Breaking Down Barriers: Ensuring Healthcare Access for Migrant and Refugee Communities
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Care Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 56
Special Issue Editors
Interests: social determinants of health; international public health; health systems strengthening; health disparities among minority, immigrant, and refugee populations; health education and behavior; culturally and religiously tailored programming; maternal and child health and welfare; program design and evaluation
Interests: social determinants of Latinx health; HIV continuity of care; globalization and migrant health; co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders; bisexual health research; masculinity and structural determinants of substance misuse; social isolation, loneliness, and economic exclusion; medical-legal partnerships; social epidemiology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Global migration has reached unprecedented levels, with millions of individuals displaced due to conflicts, environmental disasters, economic hardships, and political instability. Access to healthcare services is a fundamental determinant of public health. Despite significant progress in global healthcare systems, barriers to accessing care remain prevalent, particularly for refugees and immigrants. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), millions of displaced individuals face challenges in obtaining essential healthcare services, leaving them vulnerable to preventable diseases, untreated chronic conditions, and poor mental health outcomes. These systemic barriers are often compounded by factors such as limited legal status, language barriers, cultural differences, and a lack of financial resources.
This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health explores the multifaceted barriers refugees and immigrants encounter when seeking healthcare services. These obstacles range from legal and policy restrictions, language and cultural differences, and economic constraints to healthcare systems' structural inefficiencies and discrimination. This Special Issue aims to highlight the intersection of these factors and how they exacerbate existing health disparities among refugee and immigrant populations.
Through a collection of interdisciplinary studies and reviews, this Special Issue contributes to a growing body of research seeking to inform policies, interventions, and practices that promote equitable healthcare access for displaced and migrant populations. The contributions will explore diverse geographical contexts, policy environments, and healthcare systems, offering both global and local perspectives on the issue. The dynamic and complex nature of migration, coupled with varying healthcare needs, requires a continuous review and adaptation of healthcare policies and services. Furthermore, they examine innovative strategies and approaches aimed at overcoming these barriers, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between governments, healthcare providers, non-governmental organizations, and refugee communities themselves. New research papers, reviews, case reports, methodological papers, position papers, brief reports (research and/or intervention studies), and commentaries are welcome to this issue.
As we continue to face global migration crises, understanding and addressing the healthcare challenges of refugees and immigrants remain urgent priorities for public health researchers and practitioners alike. It is our hope that this Special Issue serves as a valuable resource for developing innovative and inclusive healthcare policies and practices that respect the dignity and rights of all individuals, regardless of their migration status.
Dr. Sana Malik
Prof. Dr. Miguel Muñoz-Laboy
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- immigrant, refugee, and migrant populations
- healthcare access
- health disparities
- health equity
- healthcare policy
- social determinants of health
- cultural barriers to healthcare
- health and mental health services for displaced populations
- migrant health challenges
- global public health
- healthcare access inequities
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