The impact of migration on the health status of Iranians: an integrative literature review.
BACKGROUND
Immigration, both voluntary and forced, is driven by social, political and economic factors. Accordingly, some discussions and debates have emerged in recent years about the impact of migration on the health status of migrants. The aim of this review was to identify the impact of migration on the health status of Iranian immigrants and present a conceptual framework to facilitate the design and delivery of services and supports for this particular immigrant group.


METHODS
Data for this integrative review were collected from Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus, ProQuest, Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, and Google Scholar search engine. The database search was limited to peer-reviewed literature, published in English, between 1980 and 2013.


RESULTS
Twenty six articles were included in the review. Analysis revealed several factors influencing the mental health of immigrants, including language insufficiency; unemployment; sense of discrimination; cultural shock; lack of social support; lack of information about health care services; and intimate partner violence.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings of this review have contributed to development of a conceptual framework that delineates the impact of migration on Iranian immigrants' health. This conceptualization may also help in addressing the needs of other vulnerable groups during the transition phase of migration.
Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Sara.Shishehgar-1@student.uts.edu.au.
Sara
S
Shishehgar
Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia. leila.gholizadeh@uts.edu.au.
Leila
L
Gholizadeh
Faculty of Health, Centre for Cardiovascular and Chronic Care, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia. michelle.digiacomo@uts.edu.au.
Michelle
M
DiGiacomo
Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia. pdavids3@jhu.edu.|School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. pdavids3@jhu.edu.
Patricia M
PM
Davidson
D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D007492:Iran / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male