Towards a European Framework to Monitor Infectious Diseases among Migrant Populations: Design and Applicability

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 12; no. 9; pp. 11640 - 11661
• Main Authors: Riccardo, Flavia, Dente, Maria Grazia, Kärki, Tommi, Fabiani, Massimo, Napoli, Christian, Chiarenza, Antonio, Giorgi Rossi, Paolo, Munoz, Cesar Velasco, Noori, Teymur, Declich, Silvia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 17-09-2015; MDPI
• Subjects: Communicable Diseases - epidemiology; Data Collection; Epidemiological Monitoring; Epidemiology; Ethnic Groups; European Continental Ancestry Group; European Union; Feasibility Studies; Humans; Infectious diseases; Noncitizens; Risk Factors; Transients and Migrants - statistics & numerical data; epidemiology; communicable diseases; European Union; data collection; transients and migrants
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph120911640

There are limitations in our capacity to interpret point estimates and trends of infectious diseases occurring among diverse migrant populations living in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA). The aim of this study was to design a data collection framework that could capture information on factors associated with increased risk to infectious diseases in migrant populations in the EU/EEA. The authors defined factors associated with increased risk according to a multi-dimensional framework and performed a systematic literature review in order to identify whether those factors well reflected the reported risk factors for infectious disease in these populations. Following this, the feasibility of applying this framework to relevant available EU/EEA data sources was assessed. The proposed multidimensional framework is well suited to capture the complexity and concurrence of these risk factors and in principle applicable in the EU/EEA. The authors conclude that adopting a multi-dimensional framework to monitor infectious diseases could favor the disaggregated collection and analysis of migrant health data.