Global output of research on the health of international migrant workers from 2000 to 2017

Abstract

Background: Approximately 150 million international migrant workers work under conditions that increase their risk of illness and injuries. The current study aimed to assess and analyze the global output of research on the health of international migrant workers to promote national and international policies that could help improve the health of international migrant workers. Methods: A bibliometric methodology was implemented using Scopus database after retrieving documents relevant to the health of migrant workers during the study period from 2000 to 2017. Results: In total, 955 documents were retrieved. The mean number of authors per document was 4.5 while the mean number of citation per document was 10.2. The retrieved documents were mainly in health policy and systems (n = 452; 47.3%), infectious diseases (n = 252; 26.4%), and mental and psychosocial health (n = 239; 25.0%). The health of Latino migrant farmworkers represented the largest cluster of keywords. The USA led (n = 389; 40.7%) with regard to the number of publications followed by China (n = 86; 9.0%) and the UK (n = 66; 6.9%). Researchers from the USA and Spain dominated the field. There were limited international research collaboration and a limited number and size of research networks. The American Journal of Industrial Medicine was most active (7.1%; n = 68) in publishing documents on health of migrant workers while the Wake Forest University was the most active (10.9%; n = 104) institution in this topic. Conclusion: The volume of global research output on the health of migrant workers was low. There was inadequate research on non-communicable diseases and maternal health of migrant workers. International research collaboration and the number of research networks were limited. Role of several world regions, particularly Arab region with 11% of international migrant workforce was also limited. There is an urgent need to prioritize research on migrant workers, especially female migrant workers in regions with low research contribution.