ReviewJournal of migration and health2025
Medical xenophobia and healthcare exclusion of refugees and migrants in Africa: A scoping review.
Review in Journal of migration and health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Addressing Barriers to Health Care Access and Their Impact on Social Cohesion Among Rohingya Refugees and Host Community in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh: Protocol for a Qualitative Study.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Excluded Lives: Migrant Status and Access to Healthcare in South Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Review
- Crossing borders, facing barriers: a rights-based narrative review of HIV care access among African migrants living with HIV.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- The potential impact of public health care denial on the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in South Africa.Science progressArticle
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: Medical xenophobia, manifesting as discrimination and exclusion from healthcare based on nationality or documentation, threatens migrants' and refugees' rights and public health. This study maps evidence of what is known about medical xenophobia and healthcare exclusion of refugees and migrants in Africa. Methodology: The framework established by Levac et al. offered a structured method for executing this scoping review. This research implemented a comprehensive search strategy to identify academic papers and grey literature. Databases such as CINAHL, Emcare, Medline Ovid, Scopus and Web of Science were utilised, focusing on the period from 2014 to 2024. A total of 20 articles were selected for data extraction and thematic synthesis. Results: The scoping review identified pervasive medical xenophobia and exclusion of refugees and migrants in African healthcare systems. This phenomenon included discriminatory attitudes from healthcare personnel, cultural insensitivity, verbal abuse, poor or denial of care due to documentation status of refugees and migrants, financial exploitation, and linguistic discrimination in healthcare settings. Refugees and migrants often avoided healthcare services due to fear of harassment or deportation, worsening their physical, mental and maternal health outcomes. Interventions highlighted in the literature encompassed policy reforms, cultural sensitivity training for providers, community engagement, enhanced service accessibility, and ongoing monitoring to address systemic inequalities. Conclusion: Addressing healthcare access inequities for refugees and migrants necessitates structural reforms to ensure accountability for inadequate treatment, uphold human rights and promote equity and culturally and linguistically inclusive practices.
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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.