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Background Ethiopia has seen an increase in the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to conflict and violence related to border-based disputes and climate change. This study examines the insecurities experienced by IDPs in the Burayu camp and how they navigate and challenge them. Violence and insecurity have daunted Ethiopian regions for decades, violated children’s rights, and impeded the achievement of the United Nation’s sustainable development goals related to children, such as good healthcare and mental health, quality education, clean water, and sanitation. The deteriorating security concerns in Ethiopia could also expose IDP children to poor health outcomes associated with a lack of access to healthcare services. Methods This was an exploratory qualitative case study guided by intersectionality theoretical lens to explore the forms of insecurities perceived and experienced by IDPs in Ethiopia. Participants were selected using a purposeful sampling approach. We interviewed 20 children, 20 parents or guardians, and 13 service providers. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim in Afan Oromo, then translated into English. We used NVivo 12 qualitative data analysis software to analyze data following Braun & Clarke’s approach to thematic data analysis. Results The participants reported that IDP children in Burayu town faced many challenges related to poor socioeconomic conditions that exposed them to several insecurities and negatively affected their well-being. They reported inadequate access to clothing and shelter, clean water, sanitary facilities, food, and adequate healthcare due to financial barriers, lack of drugs, and quality of care. Our data analysis shows that socioeconomic and contextual factors intersect to determine the health and well-being of children in the Ethiopian IDP camp studied. The children experienced insecurities while navigating their daily lives. This is compounded by institutional practices that shape gender relations, income status, and access to healthcare, education, and food. These deficiencies expose children to traumatic events that could decrease future livelihood prospects and lead to compromised mental health, rendering them susceptible to prolonged post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Results are presented under the following topics: (1) basic needs insecurity, (2) healthcare insecurity, (3) academic insecurity, (4) economic insecurity, (5) food insecurity, and (6) physical and mental health insecurity. Conclusion Successful relocation and reintegration of IDPs would help to alleviate both parent and child post-conflict stressors. Managing and following up on economic reintegration efforts is needed in both the short and long term. Such measures will help to achieve goals for specific projects attached to donor support outcomes, consequently enabling social support and conflict resolution management efforts.

Adolescents living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are struggling with accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, and COVID-19 has escalated the problem. The purpose of this review was to identify and assess the existing literature on the impact of the pandemic on SRH needs and access to services by adolescents in LMICs. A scoping review was conducted to collate findings on the topic. Searches were performed on eight databases. Data were extracted and categorized into various themes. After removing duplicates and performing a full-text reading of all articles, nine articles were included in our review. Our findings generated several themes related to adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health during the COVID-19 pandemic. These include (1) limited access to sexual and reproductive health services, (2) school closure and increased rate of early marriages, (3) sexual or intimate partner violence during COVID-19, (4) disruption in maternity care, (5) adolescents’ involvement in risky or exploitative work, (6) intervention to improve sexual and reproductive health services during COVID-19, and (7) policy development related to adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Several recommendations were made on policies—for instance, the use of telemedicine and community-based programs as a way to deliver SRH services to adolescents during and after a pandemic.

Health equity cannot be achieved without equitable evidence, but equitable evidence does not exist across racial and ethnic groups. For example, in more than 20 000 clinical trials conducted in the United States between 2000 and 2020, fewer than half compared study outcomes among different racial and ethnic groups, and recruitment within them was poorly representative of population demography. The resulting gap in the medical literature skews structures in health care to privilege White populations while disadvantaging others. Many high-income countries, including Canada, have a long history of racism, which extends to health care and health research. Examples include the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, in which 600 Black men were misinformed over decades about the treatment they were receiving,2 and Canadian studies of Indigenous children in residential schools who were left to suffer the effects of malnutrition. Health research continues to perpetuate this history of racial discrimination through under-reporting of racism, race and ethnicity.

Background The transnational migration of African nurses negatively impacts nurse-to-population ratios and life expectancy indices in many African countries. Understanding migration decisions, destination preferences, and recruitment practices of African nurses is crucial for identifying appropriate and effective retention interventions. Objective The objectives of this scoping review are to examine the state of evidence in relation to the decisions surrounding international African nurse migration, as well as destinations preferences and recruitment practices employed to attract African nurses. Methods Guided by the updated Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews, we conducted a comprehensive search on empirical studies and grey literature on African nurse migration published in English from 2000 onwards and indexed in health and interdisciplinary databases. Studies on African nurse or student nurse migration intention were excluded. Results We included 28 studies, twenty-one of which were peer-reviewed and seven from the grey literature. Synthesis of included studies found that international African nurse migration is influenced by economic challenges and income disparities, and career dynamics and job sustainability in home countries. The choice of destination by African nurses is impacted by African countries' past colonial relationships with destination countries, linguistic and cultural similarities. African nurses are recruited through international inter-agency collaboration and via direct recruitment by destination country health systems. Conclusion Low income, poor economic growth and inadequate investment in African health systems significantly drive African nurse emigration, complicating efforts to attain universal health coverage. Recruitment strategies for nurse from African are often unregulated and can lead to exploitation and human trafficking. Again, as African nurse migration continues to rise, further studies are needed to examine their migration and transition experiences, as well as the support systems available in their destinations. Finally, improving workforce policies to meet the evolving needs of nurses is vital for retaining nurses in Africa.

Adaptation to social life changes after migration may be beneficial or detrimental to migrants' oral health outcomes and related behaviors. This systematic review aims to synthesize the scientific literature on the impact of social support on immigrants' and ethnic minorities' oral health status and/or behaviors. A comprehensive electronic search, up to November 2018, was conducted using five electronic databases. We included cross-sectional and longitudinal quantitative studies that examine associations between social support and oral health outcomes among immigrants and ethnic minorities. Study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment were completed in duplicate and the Newcastle-Ottawa checklist was used to appraise the methodological quality of the quantitative studies. A total of 26 studies met the eligibility criteria. Included studies examined multiple oral health outcomes such as dental care utilization, oral health behaviors, oral health problems, self-rated oral health, oral health knowledge, and oral health-related quality of life among immigrants and ethnic minorities. The social support level is assessed either by social support indicators or by adapting certain scales. Overall, social support was found to be positively associated with dental care utilization, number of carious teeth, periodontal disease, oral health behaviors, oral health knowledge, oral health-related quality of life, and self-rated oral health. Although immigrants and ethnic minorities encounter several challenges after migration to a new country that could affect their oral health, social support from their surrounding environment in the form of structural or functional support plays an important role in improving their oral health outcomes.

Armed conflict and internal displacement of persons create new health challenges for women in Africa. To outline the research literature on this population, we conducted a review of studies exploring the health of internally displaced persons (IDP) women in Africa. In collaboration with a health research librarian and a review team, a search strategy was designed that identified 31 primary research studies with relevant evidence. Studies on the health of displaced women have been conducted in South- Central Africa, including Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); and in Eastern, East central Africa, and Western Africa, including Eritrea, Uganda, and Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, and Nigeria. We identified violence, mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and malaria and as key health areas to explore, and observed that socioeconomic power shifts play a crucial role in predisposing women to challenges in all four categories. Access to reproductive health services was influenced by knowledge, geographical proximity to health services, spousal consent, and affordability of care. As well, numerous factors affect the mental health of internally displaced women in Africa: excessive care-giving responsibilities, lack of financial and family support to help them cope, sustained experiences of violence, psychological distress, family dysfunction, and men’s chronic alcoholism. National and regional governments must recommit to institutional restructuring and improved funding allocation to culturally appropriate health interventions for displaced women.

African immigrants are moving to high-income nations such as Canada in greater numbers in search of a better life. These immigrants frequently struggle with several issues, including limited social support, shifts in gender roles/status, cultural conflicts with their children, and language barriers. We used participatory action research (PAR) to gather data about Sub-Saharan African immigrants residing in Alberta, Canada, with a focus on their viewpoints, difficulties, and experiences of parenting children in Canada. We contextualized our study and its findings using both postcolonial feminism and transnationalism approaches. Study findings show African immigrant parents place a high priority on respect between generations. The absence of assistance, conflicts caused by culture, and language barriers are notable difficulties they encountered in parenting. An additional factor is a lack of acquaintance with and comprehension of the culture of their new home nation. Several implications stem from our findings, including the need for interventional research that explores effective, culturally relevant strategies for enhancing parenting among African immigrants. Our findings demonstrate the need for culturally sensitive policies and practices that support the transition and integration of African immigrant families into Canadian society. It is imperative for health care providers and policy makers to develop and revise culturally appropriate policies that take into consideration the importance of African immigrants in destination countries. Adopting culturally relevant policies and practices will improve the wellbeing of this growing but underprivileged minority of Canadians.

Background Black people are disproportionately affected by structural and social determinants of health, resulting in greater risks of exposure to and deaths from COVID-19. Structural and social determinants of health feed vaccine hesitancy and worsen health disparities. Objective This scoping review explored interventions that have been employed to address vaccine hesitancy among Black population outside of African and Caribbean countries. This review provides several strategies for addressing this deep-rooted public health problem. Methods The scoping review followed the five-step framework outlined by Arksey and O’Malley. It complies with reporting guidelines from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Research studies that examined interventions utilized to promote vaccine confidence within Black populations living outside of African and Caribbean countries were reviewed. Findings A total of 20 articles met the inclusion criteria for this study: 17 were quantitative studies and three were mixed-method studies. This scoping review highlighted six themes: educational advancement, messaging, multi-component approaches, outreach efforts, enhancing healthcare access, and healthcare provider leadership. Conclusion The review identified effective interventions for addressing vaccine hesitancy among Black populations outside Africa and the Caribbean, emphasizing education, multidimensional approaches, and healthcare provider recommendations. It calls for more qualitative research and interventions in countries like Canada and the UK to enhance vaccine confidence and reduce mistrust.

Migrant populations drive Canada’s demographic expansion, making their successful integration a national priority. However, research has consistently shown that refugees and immigrants experience declining mental health and encounter significant barriers to accessing culturally appropriate mental health support. This scoping review examined the breadth of evidence on culturally adapted mental health education (MHE) programs for migrant populations, including those that integrate traditional and complementary healing practices, and their effectiveness. Systematic searches across six databases (Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Global Health, CINAHL, and Scopus) identified 4075 peer-reviewed articles, with 28 studies meeting inclusion criteria. These included mental health education and awareness programs that integrate psychoeducation and skill-building. Inclusion criteria required cultural adaptation of programs through one or more approaches such as language modification, culturally adapted content, community-based delivery, or integration of traditional and complementary healing practices. Thematic analysis of the programs revealed seven key themes characterizing effective MHE programs: cultural adaptation and sensitivity, addressing unique migration-related stressors, integration of traditional and Western approaches, use of theoretical frameworks and evidence-based practices, rigorous evaluation methodologies, application of holistic frameworks, and community-based peer support models. Programs predominantly utilized psychoeducation and culturally adapted interventions, with common theoretical frameworks including cognitive–behavioral therapy and the PRECEDE–PROCEED model. Across the reviewed studies, program evaluations reported positive outcomes including increased mental health literacy, reduced stigma, enhanced coping skills, and decreased depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms, suggesting that culturally adapted MHE programs are acceptable and feasible interventions for migrant populations.

Black people are a growing population in Canada, but limited data are available on the factors that contribute to the mental health of Black youth in Canada. We sought to explore the factors that contribute to the mental health of Black youth in Alberta, Canada. Using a youth-led participatory action research approach and an intersectional feminist theoretical perspective, we collected data from a diverse sample of Black youth (aged 16–30 yr) in Alberta. We conducted individual interviews and conversation cafés with Black youth. We completed 30 individual interviews and 4 conversation cafés with a total of 99 Black youth. Participants identified the dominant factors contributing to mental health problems as racial discrimination, the intergenerational gap in families, microaggression and stigma, academic expectations, financial stress, lack of identity, previous traumatic events and religion. They also identified factors that contributed positively to mental health, including a sense of accomplishment, openness about mental health, positive relationships, sense of community and spirituality. Black youth in Alberta reported that anti-Black racism and intergenerational tensions are major factors that contribute to their mental health, which suggests a need to address anti-Black racism and ensure more equitable approaches for Black youth in Alberta.