Transforming migrant health data for policy action: Developing, validating and applying the Migrant Health Country Profile Tool in the Middle East and North Africa
1
City St George's University of London, London, United Kingdom
2
IS Global, Barcelona, Spain
3
University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia
4
Office Nationale de la Famille et de la Population, Tunis, Tunisia
5
University of Gezira, Wad Madani, Gezira, Sudan
6
Mohammed VI International School of Public Health, Casablanca, Morocco
7
National School of Public Health ENSP, Rabat, Morocco
8
Badr University of Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
9
Institut Pasteur, Tunis, Tunisia
10
Migration Health and Development Research Initiative (MHADRI), Colombo, Sri Lanka
11
Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A2723
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Migration is a constant global reality, yet integrating migrant populations into health systems remains challenging. Key barriers highlighted by UN agencies and a Lancet Commission include fragmented data on migrant health indicators and limited information on healthcare access. To address these gaps, our multi-country consortium co-developed, validated, and applied the Migrant Health Country Profile tools (MHCP-t) in the Middle East and North Africa, a package of three instruments mapping migrant health data, policies, and healthcare provision.
METHODS:
The MHCP-t was developed through a structured, participatory process guided by a process evaluation framework. National and international working groups coordinated systematic reviews and qualitative fieldwork with migrants, community leaders, and professionals, generating draft indicators. These were refined using the nominal group technique with experts in disease-specific indicators, migration health, and survey design. Revised items were programmed and piloted with 20 national experts to assess clarity, relevance, and usability using mixed-methods. An independent sample of 40–50 national experts is validating each MHCP-t tool through tool completion and surveys assessing item-level content validity using validity indices and Krippendorff’s alpha. A nested qualitative sample of 15 participants will provide further insights. Preliminary
RESULTS:
Stakeholder response to the MHCP-t has been positive, with 90% reporting high satisfaction. Implementation revealed some data gaps. While TB, HIV, and mental health data are commonly captured, malaria, neglected tropical diseases, and non-communicable diseases remain less unrecorded. Only 6% of datasets are fully digitalised, limiting linkage and rapid surveillance. Migrant variables are inconsistently included, with 44% captured ad hoc and rarely disaggregated by migrant type. Despite legal entitlement to healthcare, gaps exist in health education, staff training, and interpretation services, creating barriers to equitable access.
CONCLUSIONS:
The MHCP-t is a valid, feasible tool for mapping migrant health, with future priorities focused on global expansion and strengthening data linkage for policymaking.
Migration is a constant global reality, yet integrating migrant populations into health systems remains challenging. Key barriers highlighted by UN agencies and a Lancet Commission include fragmented data on migrant health indicators and limited information on healthcare access. To address these gaps, our multi-country consortium co-developed, validated, and applied the Migrant Health Country Profile tools (MHCP-t) in the Middle East and North Africa, a package of three instruments mapping migrant health data, policies, and healthcare provision.
METHODS:
The MHCP-t was developed through a structured, participatory process guided by a process evaluation framework. National and international working groups coordinated systematic reviews and qualitative fieldwork with migrants, community leaders, and professionals, generating draft indicators. These were refined using the nominal group technique with experts in disease-specific indicators, migration health, and survey design. Revised items were programmed and piloted with 20 national experts to assess clarity, relevance, and usability using mixed-methods. An independent sample of 40–50 national experts is validating each MHCP-t tool through tool completion and surveys assessing item-level content validity using validity indices and Krippendorff’s alpha. A nested qualitative sample of 15 participants will provide further insights. Preliminary
RESULTS:
Stakeholder response to the MHCP-t has been positive, with 90% reporting high satisfaction. Implementation revealed some data gaps. While TB, HIV, and mental health data are commonly captured, malaria, neglected tropical diseases, and non-communicable diseases remain less unrecorded. Only 6% of datasets are fully digitalised, limiting linkage and rapid surveillance. Migrant variables are inconsistently included, with 44% captured ad hoc and rarely disaggregated by migrant type. Despite legal entitlement to healthcare, gaps exist in health education, staff training, and interpretation services, creating barriers to equitable access.
CONCLUSIONS:
The MHCP-t is a valid, feasible tool for mapping migrant health, with future priorities focused on global expansion and strengthening data linkage for policymaking.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
