Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33462099›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2021

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

Allard Willem de Smalen, Zhie X Chan, Claudia Abreu Lopes, Michaella Vanore, Tharani Loganathan, Nicola S Pocock

Open access · goldAbstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Allard Willem de SmalenMaastricht Graduate School of Governance, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands allarddesmalen@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-9633-1976
Zhie X ChanUnited Nations University-International Institute for Global Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Claudia Abreu LopesUnited Nations University-International Institute for Global Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Michaella VanoreMaastricht Graduate School of Governance, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Tharani LoganathanCentre for Epidemiology and Evidence-based Practice, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.ORCID 0000-0001-6690-000X
Nicola S PocockUnited Nations University-International Institute for Global Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.ORCID 0000-0002-2083-4171
Maastricht School of Management · NLUnited Nations University-International Institute for Global Health · MYLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GBUniversity of Malaya · MY

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA 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.

methodsA 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.

results67 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.

conclusionThis 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.

Indexed as

Population HealthRefugeesTransients and MigrantsCross-Sectional StudiesGlobal HealthHumansMalaysiahealth services administration & managementpublic healthstatistics & research methods

Identifiers

PMID33462099
PMCPMC7813391
OpenAlexW3121760859

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.