SynthesisEuropean journal of public health2018
International migrants' use of emergency departments in Europe compared with non-migrants' use: a systematic review.
Synthesis in European journal of public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Barriers and Facilitators to Asylum Seekers and Refugees Accessing Non-Hospital-Based Care: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2026Pooled it
- Exploring differences in the utilization of the emergency department between migrant and non-migrant populations: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Health professionals' experiences of and attitudes towards mental healthcare for migrants and refugees in Europe: A qualitative systematic review.Transcultural psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Inequalities in health care utilization among migrants and non-migrants in Germany: a systematic review.International journal for equity in health · 2018Pooled it
- Use of health services among international migrant children - a systematic review.Globalization and health · 2018Pooled it
- Disparities in the potentially avoidable use of emergency services by citizenship: a two-year cross-sectional study in Italy.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Characteristics of Patients Accessing Outpatient Oncology Services Virtually and Predictors of Subsequent Unplanned Emergency Department Presentations in 78,323 Adults in Australia: Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Changes in the Patterns of Emergency Ambulance Care During a Primary Care Model Programme in Hungary.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- In-hospital Wait Times for Emergency General Surgery: Do Immigrants Wait Longer?Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2026Article
- Healthcare utilisation among migrants in the Netherlands' unique hybrid healthcare system: the HELIUS study.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- A service evaluation of clinicians' Signposting of asylum seekers and refugees (ASRs) attending an emergency department in South-West England.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- 'Respond'-A novel approach to healthcare delivery for people seeking asylum.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Emergency Department utilization in Switzerland: Comparing Swiss natives with first- and second-generation immigrants.Journal of migration and health · 2026Article
- Could low-acuity emergency medical services patients be redirected to primary care? Findings from a multi-center survey in Berlin, Germany.BMC emergency medicine · 2025Observational
- Article
- The Neurosurgical Immigrant Experience in Italy: Analysis of a Northeast Tertiary Center.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Migration context of emergency department patients and patterns of their in- and outpatient healthcare utilization - analysis of three INDEED study centers in Berlin.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Access to health services by women subjected to violence: findings from administrative healthcare data from the metropolitan area of northern Italy.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: International migration across Europe is increasing. High rates of net migration may be expected to increase pressure on healthcare services, including emergency services. However, the extent to which immigration creates additional pressure on emergency departments (EDs) is widely debated. This review synthesizes the evidence relating to international migrants' use of EDs in European Economic Area (EEA) countries as compared with that of non-migrants. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, The Cochrane Library and The Web of Science were searched for the years 2000-16. Studies reporting on ED service utilization by international immigrants, as compared with non-migrants, were eligible for inclusion. Included studies were restricted to those conducted in EEA countries and English language publications only. Results: Twenty-two articles (from six host countries) were included. Thirteen of 18 articles reported higher volume of ED service use by immigrants, or some immigrant sub-groups. Migrants were seen to be significantly more likely to present to the ED during unsocial hours and more likely than non-migrants to use the ED for low-acuity presentations. Differences in presenting conditions were seen in 4/7 articles; notably a higher rate of obstetric and gynaecology presentations among migrant women. Conclusions: The principal finding of this review is that migrants utilize the ED more, and differently, to the native populations in EEA countries. The higher use of the ED for low-acuity presentations and the use of the ED during unsocial hours suggest that barriers to primary healthcare may be driving the higher use of these emergency services although further research is needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.