Migration, Population Mobility and Public Health: Focus on Vulnerable and Marginalised Populations

Dear Colleagues,

The scope, complexity and impact on health between country migration and population mobility are significant. Health outcomes for migrant and mobile populations are influenced by a range of push–pull factors between the country of origin and destination including the direction and destination of movement, socio-economic characteristics, journey conditions, access to social support and legal protections. Particular populations may experience greater health disparities. The global public health crisis precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to increase the fear of, and discrimination towards, mobile and migrant populations. 

The need for a multilevel research agenda into migration, population mobility and health is well recognized. However, mobile and migrant populations remain under-represented in public health research, with factors such as social isolation, language barriers and mistrust often framing populations as ‘hard to reach’. Where research exists, the focus has largely been to define the ‘problem’; comparatively little research has identified ‘what works’ or tested or scaled up interventions to address disparities.

This Special Issue invites theoretical and empirical contributions from diverse disciplines on the following: 

• Development and evaluation of public health responses to improve health and socio-economic outcomes for mobile and migrant populations;
• Culturally appropriate and decolonizing models of public health and migration research;
• Innovative methods for improving the quality of research involving mobile and migrant populations;
• Insights from mobile and migrant populations highlighting gaps, priorities and solutions;
• Causes and consequences of public health issues affecting mobile and migrant populations.

Contributions are encouraged from researchers with lived experience and submissions which highlight the voices of those who are affected by migration and population mobility, particularly studies with a focus on co-design and emancipatory approaches. 

Dr. Gemma Crawford
Dr. Roanna C. Lobo
Dr. Daniel Vujcich
Dr. Horas Wong
Guest Editors

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