Parent Emigration, Physical Health and Related Risk and Preventive Factors of Children Left Behind: A Systematic Review of Literature

Justina Račaitė, Jutta Lindert, Khatia Antia, Volker Winkler, Rita Sketerskienė, Marija Jakubauskienė, Linda Wulkau and Genė Šurkienė
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Justina Račaitė: Department of Public Health, Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M.K. Čiurlionio Str. 21, LT-03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Jutta Lindert: Department of Social Work and Health, University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer, Constantiaplatz 4, 26723 Emden, Germany
Khatia Antia: Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130/3, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Volker Winkler: Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130/3, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Rita Sketerskienė: Department of Public Health, Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M.K. Čiurlionio Str. 21, LT-03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Marija Jakubauskienė: Department of Public Health, Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M.K. Čiurlionio Str. 21, LT-03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Linda Wulkau: Department of Social Work and Health, University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer, Constantiaplatz 4, 26723 Emden, Germany
Genė Šurkienė: Department of Public Health, Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M.K. Čiurlionio Str. 21, LT-03101 Vilnius, Lithuania

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: The aim of our study was to systematically review the literature on physical health and related consequences of internal and international parental migration on left-behind children (LBC). This review followed PRISMA guidelines. We searched the PubMed, Web of Science, Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO, and Cochrane databases and included studies reporting physical health-related outcomes of children affected by parental migration. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. We selected 34 publications from a total of 6061 search results. The study found that LBC suffer from poor physical health as compared with non-LBC. Physical health-related risk factors such as underweight, lower weight, stunted growth, unhealthy food preferences, lower physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, injuries, and incomplete vaccination tend to be more prevalent among LBC in China. Studies focussing on international migration argue that having migrant parents might be preventive for undernutrition. Overall, our study showed that children affected by internal or international migration tend to have similar physical health outcomes. Moreover, we identified a lack of evidence on international parental migration that may have influenced the overall impacts. Further studies addressing international migration would contribute to better understand the impacts of migration for LBC.

Keywords: children left behind; parental migration; physical health; children health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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