MIGRATION – HEALTH RISKS

Abstract

According to the International Organization for Migration, a migrant is "any person who moves or has moved across an international border or within a country, regardless of their legal status (legal-illegal), the type of relocation (voluntary or involuntary) and the reasons for relocation (natural or other disasters or for economic reasons). Forced and voluntary migration entail different risk factors for the relocating population. The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors to which migrants are exposed at all stages of the migration process. For this work, the scientific papers published in databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, which refer to the European area, were reviewed. The search was carried out using the keywords "migration", "risk factors", "health effects", "diseases". At all stages of the migration process, migrants are exposed to various factors that affect their physical and mental health. War-related migrations have a greater impact on health than voluntary migrations, as these migrants are under great stress and do not know what to expect during the journey or at their destination. Due to lack of health insurance, lack of language skills, various cultural barriers and lack of identity documents, migrants are denied access to healthcare and various health problems of migrants are often ignored. During their migration process, migrants often live in inadequate accommodation with poor hygienic and sanitary conditions, which favor the occurrence of various infectious diseases such as water- and food-borne diseases, respiratory and skin diseases. A particular problem in the refugee camps are migrant children, who often arrive in a poor physical and mental condition. Children are particularly at risk of falling ill or even dying, as overcrowding and poor hygiene and sanitary conditions encourage the occurrence of infectious diseases such as chickenpox, diarrhea, respiratory infections and malnutrition. Important risk factors are the lack of food and water and the preparation of meals from unhealthy foods. The mental health of migrants is often affected by various traumatic experiences, e.g. lack of essentials such as water, food and shelter, loss of family members, separation from family and friends, leading to symptoms of depression and post-traumatic syndrome. Migration is a major public health problem that requires systemic solutions to protect the health of migrants. It is necessary to take various preventive measures to minimize the risks to which migrants are exposed during their migration process.