Racial Discrimination and Social Determinants of Health in Migrant Children: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the relationship between Social Determinants of Health (SDH) and racial discrimination in migrant children and adolescents, based on the information available in the scientific literature. Method: Narrative review of primary studies published between 2008 and 2021 in PubMed and Web of Science databases. The descriptors “Psychological/Social Discrimination”, “Ra-cism”, “Social Stigma”, “Social Determinants of Health”, “Public Health”, “Health Equity”, “Transients and Migrants”, “Refugees”, “Emigrants and Immigrants”, “Undocumented Im-migrants”, “Child”, “Adolescent”, “Child”, “Preschool” were using. The Boolean operators used were AND OR. We included observational articles (analytical or descriptive) that evaluated the relationship between racial discrimination and SDH, published in English or Spanish. The study population was children and adolescents. We select articles following the PRISMA re-commendations. The evaluation of the quality of the evidence was made using MMAT. Results: Of a total of 1249 articles identified, 55 articles were included. The most sig-nificant number of articles identified the relationship between racial discrimination and migration on adverse mental health outcomes. Evidence regarding structural determinants was scarce; however, the relationship between racial discrimination and the moderating effect of family and school stands out. Conclusions: Analyzing racial discrimination as perceived by migrant children through a DSS approach allows us to identify sensitive areas to develop strategies to reduce inequities in this group.