Health in populations displaced forcibly after disasters
Citation: Mohammadi M, Jafari H, Etemadi M, et al. Health Problems of Increasing Man-Made and Climate-Related Disasters on Forcibly Displaced populations: A Scoping Review on Global Evidence. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. 2023;17:e537.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: Nothing noted.
What is this? In this scoping review, the authors searched for publications about health problems in populations displaced forcibly after disasters caused by natural hazards or by man. They restricted their searches to first-generation refugees with long-term displacements, published in English between January 1990 and June 2022. The authors included 48 documents.
What was found: Adverse mental and physical health outcomes were more likely after man-made disasters than after disasters caused by natural hazards. Forcibly displaced populations experienced worsening non-communicable and infectious diseases, and had three times the disease burden of non-displaced individuals. Relocation after disasters caused by natural hazards was associated with high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and other stress-related disorders.
Implications: The authors of the review stated that greater access to targeted health services before and after relocation could help to address the increased health burdens experienced by forcibly displaced populations. Governments and international organisations should ensure access to specialised mental and physical healthcare services to treat non-communicable and infectious diseases, injuries, and mental trauma.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discussed their findings in the context of place of residence and ethnicity.
This summary was prepared by Isabelle Tahmazian, checked by Sneha Bhadti, and finalized by William Summerskill.