Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
I. Uluslararası Katılımlı Göç Sempozyumu, Trabzon, Türkiye, 24 - 25 Temmuz 2025, ss.224-226, (Özet Bildiri)
The
increasing global mobility of populations has led to significant structural
challenges, particularly concerning healthcare access for children. Migrant
children often face multiple barriers in the countries they migrate to,
including socioeconomic disadvantages, language barriers, uncertainties
regarding legal status, cultural mismatches, and discrimination. These
multifaceted obstacles directly impact their ability to access and effectively
utilize healthcare services. This systematic review aims to identify trends in
the healthcare utilization of migrant children within the international
literature, to understand how their service usage differs from that of native
peers, and to determine which categories of healthcare services exhibit the
greatest disparities. As part of this study, electronic databases PubMed and
Web of Science were systematically searched. In addition, reference lists of
retrieved publications and the official websites of relevant international
organizations (e.g., WHO, IOM, UNICEF) were examined. The review includes 107
full-text observational studies published between 2014 and 2024 that reported
on the use of formal healthcare services by first- and second-generation
migrant children aged 0 to 18 years. The extracted data were classified based
on country of study, sample characteristics, type of healthcare service
utilized (e.g., primary care, emergency services, hospital admissions, dental
health), migrant status, and comparisons with native populations. Of the
included studies, 50% reported that migrant children used healthcare services
less frequently than native children. Another 25% found no statistically
significant difference, while 18% indicated higher utilization among migrants.
The remaining 7% did not report a conclusive finding on this issue. Notably,
the pattern of "lower utilization" was especially pronounced in
preventive and primary healthcare services, routine check-ups, and oral health
care, whereas emergency room visits and hospital admissions were more commonly
associated with "higher utilization." These findings suggest that
migrant children often fail to benefit adequately from preventive health
services, entering the healthcare system mainly during more severe, acute, or
emergency situations. This imbalance in access to healthcare for migrant children
represents a critical public health concern that affects not only individual
outcomes but also broader societal well-being. It is imperative that health
policies targeting migrant children are restructured within an equity-oriented,
inclusive, and culturally sensitive framework. Moreover, these policies must be
supported by comprehensive strategies aimed at reducing language, legal, and
access-related barriers.