Migrants’ use of emergency departments in Europe
Citation: Credé SH, Such E, Mason S. International migrants’ use of emergency departments in Europe compared with non-migrants’ use: a systematic review. The European Journal of Public Health. 2018;28(1):61-73.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care Yorkshire and Humber.
What is this? Information on the use of emergency health services by migrants might help policy makers and practitioners to meet this need.
In this systematic review, the authors searched for studies that compared the use of emergency departments by international migrant workers and non-migrants in Europe. They restricted their searches to articles published since 1 January 2000 and did the search in January 2016. They included 22 studies, which were from England (2 studies), Denmark (2), Italy (6), Norway (1), Spain (9) and Switzerland (2).
What was found: Migrants used emergency departments more than non-migrants.
Migrants used emergency departments during unsocial hours and for low acuity presentations, which may reflect barriers they experience in accessing primary health care.
Implications: The authors of the review concluded that a greater understanding of migrants’ healthcare needs and how they use emergency health services is needed to ensure that healthcare services are designed to meet their needs.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discussed their findings in the context of place of residence.
This summary was prepared by Joly Ghanawi, edited by Sydney Johnson and finalized by Mike Clarke.