Wellbeing of migrant and refugee parents from the Middle East
Citation: Winter AK, Due C, Ziersch A. Wellbeing Outcomes and Risk and Protective Factors for Parents with Migrant and Refugee Backgrounds from the Middle East in the First 1000 Days: A Systematic Review. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 2023;26:395–408.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: The authors reported that they had no external funding for this review.
What is this? In this systematic review, the authors searched for studies on the well-being of re-settled migrant and refugee parents from the greater Middle East geopolitical region during the first 1000 days of their child’s life. They restricted their searches to articles published in English and excluded studies of internal migration. The authors searched in July 2022. They included 35 papers. This systematic review was registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42020187153.
What was found: Migrant and refugee parents from the greater Middle East geopolitical region faced challenges with their children in resettlement countries. Challenges included changes to family dynamics, less social support than in home countries, stigma related to mental health, language barriers, and a lack of awareness about health services. This can affect parental well-being, post-natal depression, isolation, and loneliness.
Implications: The authors of the review stated that the provision of supportive, client-centred healthcare and comprehensive physical and mental health information is essential to support the well-being of parents from the greater Middle East geopolitical region. A well-rounded understanding of individual contexts, health and cultural beliefs, and practices of families who engage with maternity and early childhood services is also important.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discussed their findings in the context of language, place of residence, culture, gender, and sex.
This summary was prepared by Isabelle Tahmazian, checked by Sneha Bhadti, and finalized by William Summerskill.