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Developing an evidence assessment framework and appraising the academic literature on migrant health in Malaysia: a scoping review

BACKGROUND: A large number of international migrants in Malaysia face challenges in obtaining good health, the extent of which is still relatively unknown. This study aims to map the existing academic literature on migrant health in Malaysia and to provide an overview of the topical coverage, qualit...

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Autores principales: de Smalen, Allard Willem, Chan, Zhie X, Abreu Lopes, Claudia, Vanore, Michaella, Loganathan, Tharani, Pocock, Nicola S
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BMJ Publishing Group 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7813391/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33462099
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041379
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author de Smalen, Allard Willem
Chan, Zhie X
Abreu Lopes, Claudia
Vanore, Michaella
Loganathan, Tharani
Pocock, Nicola S
author_facet de Smalen, Allard Willem
Chan, Zhie X
Abreu Lopes, Claudia
Vanore, Michaella
Loganathan, Tharani
Pocock, Nicola S
author_sort de Smalen, Allard Willem
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: A large number of international migrants in Malaysia face challenges in obtaining good health, the extent of which is still relatively unknown. This study aims to map the existing academic literature on migrant health in Malaysia and to provide an overview of the topical coverage, quality and level of evidence of these scientific studies. METHODS: A scoping review was conducted using six databases, including Econlit, Embase, Global Health, Medline, PsycINFO and Social Policy and Practice. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were conducted in Malaysia, peer-reviewed, focused on a health dimension according to the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII) framework, and targeted the vulnerable international migrant population. Data were extracted by using the BARHII framework and a newly developed decision tree to identify the type of study design and corresponding level of evidence. Modified Joanna Briggs Institute checklists were used to assess study quality, and a multiple-correspondence analysis (MCA) was conducted to identify associations between different variables. RESULTS: 67 publications met the selection criteria and were included in the study. The majority (n=41) of studies included foreign workers. Over two-thirds (n=46) focused on disease and injury, and a similar number (n=46) had descriptive designs. The average quality of the papers was low, yet quality differed significantly among them. The MCA showed that high-quality studies were mostly qualitative designs that included refugees and focused on living conditions, while prevalence and analytical cross-sectional studies were mostly of low quality. CONCLUSION: This study provides an overview of the scientific literature on migrant health in Malaysia published between 1965 and 2019. In general, the quality of these studies is low, and various health dimensions have not been thoroughly researched. Therefore, researchers should address these issues to improve the evidence base to support policy-makers with high-quality evidence for decision-making.
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spelling pubmed-78133912021-01-25 Developing an evidence assessment framework and appraising the academic literature on migrant health in Malaysia: a scoping review de Smalen, Allard Willem Chan, Zhie X Abreu Lopes, Claudia Vanore, Michaella Loganathan, Tharani Pocock, Nicola S BMJ Open Global Health BACKGROUND: A large number of international migrants in Malaysia face challenges in obtaining good health, the extent of which is still relatively unknown. This study aims to map the existing academic literature on migrant health in Malaysia and to provide an overview of the topical coverage, quality and level of evidence of these scientific studies. METHODS: A scoping review was conducted using six databases, including Econlit, Embase, Global Health, Medline, PsycINFO and Social Policy and Practice. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were conducted in Malaysia, peer-reviewed, focused on a health dimension according to the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII) framework, and targeted the vulnerable international migrant population. Data were extracted by using the BARHII framework and a newly developed decision tree to identify the type of study design and corresponding level of evidence. Modified Joanna Briggs Institute checklists were used to assess study quality, and a multiple-correspondence analysis (MCA) was conducted to identify associations between different variables. RESULTS: 67 publications met the selection criteria and were included in the study. The majority (n=41) of studies included foreign workers. Over two-thirds (n=46) focused on disease and injury, and a similar number (n=46) had descriptive designs. The average quality of the papers was low, yet quality differed significantly among them. The MCA showed that high-quality studies were mostly qualitative designs that included refugees and focused on living conditions, while prevalence and analytical cross-sectional studies were mostly of low quality. CONCLUSION: This study provides an overview of the scientific literature on migrant health in Malaysia published between 1965 and 2019. In general, the quality of these studies is low, and various health dimensions have not been thoroughly researched. Therefore, researchers should address these issues to improve the evidence base to support policy-makers with high-quality evidence for decision-making. BMJ Publishing Group 2021-01-18 /pmc/articles/PMC7813391/ /pubmed/33462099 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041379 Text en © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
spellingShingle Global Health
de Smalen, Allard Willem
Chan, Zhie X
Abreu Lopes, Claudia
Vanore, Michaella
Loganathan, Tharani
Pocock, Nicola S
Developing an evidence assessment framework and appraising the academic literature on migrant health in Malaysia: a scoping review
title Developing an evidence assessment framework and appraising the academic literature on migrant health in Malaysia: a scoping review
title_full Developing an evidence assessment framework and appraising the academic literature on migrant health in Malaysia: a scoping review
title_fullStr Developing an evidence assessment framework and appraising the academic literature on migrant health in Malaysia: a scoping review
title_full_unstemmed Developing an evidence assessment framework and appraising the academic literature on migrant health in Malaysia: a scoping review
title_short Developing an evidence assessment framework and appraising the academic literature on migrant health in Malaysia: a scoping review
title_sort developing an evidence assessment framework and appraising the academic literature on migrant health in malaysia: a scoping review
topic Global Health
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7813391/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33462099
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041379
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