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Migrants' involvement in health policy, service development and research in the WHO European Region: A narrative review of policy and practice

Journal

TROPICAL MEDICINE & INTERNATIONAL HEALTH
Volume 26, Issue 10, Pages 1164-1176

Publisher

WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/tmi.13643

Keywords

health policy; implementation science; migrant health; participatory research

Funding

  1. Health Research Board [HRA-PHR-2015-1344]
  2. Irish Research Council [PPI-2017-009]
  3. University of Limerick
  4. IReL
  5. Health Research Board
  6. Health Research Board (HRB) [PPI-2017-009] Funding Source: Health Research Board (HRB)

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The study found that only two countries had explicit national policies promoting migrants' involvement, while 27 countries had examples of migrants' involvement in practice. Participatory research approaches were identified as a lever to implementing policy into practice in a meaningful way.
OBJECTIVES The involvement of individuals and communities in health decision-making is enshrined in WHO policies. However, migrant groups are under-represented in health decision-making processes. Our aim was to explore migrants' involvement in health policy, service development and research in the WHO European Region to identify levers for inclusive and meaningful practice. METHODS We conducted a narrative review of grey literature and peer-reviewed research on migrants' involvement in health decision-making across the 53 countries in WHO Europe. We searched for articles published in English between 2010 and the present in two electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus), IOM MIPEX Health Strand country reports, the EU SOPHIE project and using a Google advanced search. Findings were analysed descriptively and using Normalisation Process Theory to investigate levers and barriers to implementation of policy into practice. RESULTS Of 1,444 articles retrieved, 79 met the inclusion criteria. We identified 20 policies promoting migrants' involvement, but national-level policies were present in only two countries. We identified 59 examples of migrants' involvement in practice from half of the WHO Europe countries (n = 27). Our Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) analysis of 14 peer-reviewed empirical papers found that participatory research approaches are a lever to putting policy into practice in a meaningful way. CONCLUSIONS Migrants' involvement in health decision-making requires explicit national policies that are implemented evenly across policymaking, service provider and research activities in all countries in the WHO European Region. Participatory approaches to involvement activities are encouraged because they are a lever to perceived barriers to migrants' involvement.

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