What is the evidence on availability and integration of refugee and migrant health data in health information systems in the WHO European Region? (2019)

By Kayvan Bozorgmehr, Louise Biddle, Sven Rohleder, Soorej Jose Puthoopparambil, Rosa Jahn
Health Evidence Network synthesis report 66
2019, x + 122 pages
ISBN 978 92 890 5442 3
CHF 25.00
Order no. 13400210

The recent rapid increases in population movements across borders highlight the importance of reliable data on refugee and migrant health for public health planning. This scoping report examined evidence on the availability and integration of refugee and migrant health data in health information systems in the WHO European Region. Refugee and migrant health data were available in 25 of the Region's 53 Member States, but differences existed in the availability, data types and main sources of data collection. Except for countries with population registers, the predominant data sources were medical records, disease-specific records and notification data. Data integration was often limited, and health monitoring surveys and data linkage approaches were underused.

Policy considerations include harmonizing migrant definitions, promoting the coordination/governance of data collection, performance monitoring for health information systems, promoting cross-country exchange of experiences, exploiting data linkage, expanding existing health surveillance, reducing health-care barriers and strengthening general health information systems.