Migration and Health

Due to deepening and expanding globalization, we can see significant number of international immigrants now in any countries of the world. According to UNDESA, the total population of migrants has doubled in the last 30 years. As long as globalization continues, this trend will be kept on.

As the WHO has worked on social determinants of health (SDH) for decades, and as the US Department of Health and Human Services developed National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care, now we know that socio-cultural factors can affect everyone’s health condition.

As same as other health professions, rehabilitation specialists need to consider socio-cultural factors whenever they work for immigrants. Nowadays, it is keenly needed to progress rehabilitation science related to migration.

As is clear from SDH and CLAS, socio-cultural factors can influence everyone’s health condition. Furthermore, the influence may reach all aspects of human health, including anatomical structure, physical and psychological function, everyday activities, and social participation. For providing effective rehabilitation services for immigrants, it is necessary for us, rehabilitation specialists, to be familiar with scientific evidence of influence of socio-cultural factors in rehabilitation.

The goals of this research topic are to clarify influence of socio-cultural factors on health condition of immigrants, to explore influence of socio-cultural factors on rehabilitation process for immigrants, and to consider desirable rehabilitation services for immigrants.

We welcome articles on below topics :

- Anthropology of immigrants and rehabilitation

- Sociology of immigrants and rehabilitation

- Demographic research and real-world data analysis of immigrants and rehabilitation

- Case studies: Qualitative analysis of rehabilitation cases of immigrants

- Immigrants and medical rehabilitation

- Immigrants and educational rehabilitation

- Immigrants and vocational rehabilitation

- Immigrants and social rehabilitation

- Access to social services by immigrants

- Life cycle and rehabilitation needs of immigrants

- Generation of immigrants and rehabilitation

- Community-based rehabilitation for immigrants

- Influence of socio-cultural factors for physical/mental disabilities and disease

- Effects of socio-cultural factors on immigrant’s health related to rehabilitation

- Development of friendly community and society for immigrants with disabilities

- Use of SDH/CLAS in rehabilitation for immigrants

- Ethnically and culturally diversity among rehabilitation and disability providers

- Culturally and linguistically appropriate rehabilitation and disability services

- Provision of rehabilitative and disability services to refugees in the Global South