Factors Influencing the Accuracy of Infectious Disease Reporting in Migrants: A Scoping Review

Paolo Giorgi Rossi, Flavia Riccardo, Annamaria Pezzarossi, Paola Ballotari, Maria Grazia Dente, Christian Napoli, Antonio Chiarenza, Cesar Velasco Munoz, Teymur Noori and Silvia Declich
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Paolo Giorgi Rossi: Interinstitutional Epidemiology Unit, AUSL Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Flavia Riccardo: National Centre for Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
Annamaria Pezzarossi: Interinstitutional Epidemiology Unit, AUSL Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Paola Ballotari: Interinstitutional Epidemiology Unit, AUSL Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Maria Grazia Dente: National Centre for Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
Christian Napoli: National Centre for Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
Antonio Chiarenza: Research and Innovation Unit, AUSL Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Cesar Velasco Munoz: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 17183 Stockholm, Sweden
Teymur Noori: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 17183 Stockholm, Sweden
Silvia Declich: National Centre for Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: We conducted a scoping review of literature to improve our understanding of the accuracy of infectious disease monitoring in migrants in the Europe. We searched PubMed for papers relevant to the topic including: case reports, observational and experimental studies, reviews, guidelines or policy documents; published after 1994. We identified 532 papers, 27 of which were included in the review. Legislation and right to access health care influence both the accuracy of rates and risk measures under estimating the at risk population, i.e., the denominator. Furthermore, the number of reported cases, i.e., the numerator, may also include cases not accounted for in the denominator. Both biases lead to an overestimated disease occurrence. Restriction to healthcare access and low responsiveness may cause under-detection of cases, however a quantification of this phenomenon has not been produced. On the contrary, screening for asymptomatic diseases increases ascertainment leading to increased detection of cases. Incompleteness of denominator data underestimates the at-risk population. In conclusion, most studies show a lower probability of under-reporting infectious diseases in migrants compared with native populations.

Keywords: migrant health; infectious diseases; surveillance; under-reporting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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