The Antecedents of Refugees' Quality of Life: A Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis.

Refugees, like other vulnerable groups, face challenges across multiple domains, including housing, socioeconomic status, and physical health, which can significantly impact their quality of life (QoL). Despite the critical importance of this issue, there is a lack of comprehensive systematic reviews examining refugees' QoL. This study aims to address this gap by conducting a systematic literature review with two main objectives: (a) to investigate the factors influencing refugees' QoL; and (b) to identify research gaps within the current body of knowledge. Integrating a bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review, this study visually maps the scientific landscape and categorises the factors affecting refugees' QoL. The review adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines and selects articles from two leading academic databases: Web of Science and Scopus. Five key themes impacting refugees' QoL emerged: economic factors, social factors, physical factors, affective factors, and administrative factors. The findings underscore the importance of adopting a comprehensive approach when seeking to enhance refugees' QoL. Furthermore, through the incorporation of a thematic map and a microeconomic perspective, this review proposes four key directions for future research: (a) exploring affluent migrant communities; (b) examining host community impacts, including local perceptions and economic tensions; (c) developing refugee-specific QoL measurement tools; and (d) understanding the influence of genetic and biological factors.