Health and social care needs of adult asylum seekers in high-income countries and their experiences of accessing care services: An overview of systematic reviews

Background Worldwide, 6.1 million people are seeking asylum because of persecution, conflicts, and human rights violations. This overview of systematic reviews (SRs) assessed the existing evidence on the care needs of asylum seekers in high-income countries and their experiences of accessing care services.

Methods We searched eight electronic databases up to January 2024 for relevant peer-reviewed SRs and assessed their methodological quality using the JBI tool for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses. We extracted information on the characteristics of SRs and summarised common themes.

Results We identified five SRs of satisfactory quality published between 2014 and 2021. Participants across the reviews ranged from 90 to 20,951. Common themes included communication challenges, health professionals’ attitudes, mental health problems, access to health care, and housing and relocation challenges. Many asylum seekers experienced negative and hostile attitudes from health professionals. Several factors, including language barriers and lack of social and financial support limited asylum seekers’ access to care services and housing. Trust issues and uncertainty about the future (e.g., fear of being deported) affected asylum seekers’ sense of security. Relocation, poor housing conditions, and difficulties in navigating the rental market affected the day-to-day life of asylum seekers and their ability to integrate into society.

Conclusions Further research should explore the health and social care needs and experiences of asylum seekers using robust methodology. Evaluation of existing policies and service provision is needed to improve the care experiences of this vulnerable population. Future research should also consider the views and perspectives of diverse stakeholders.