Title: Health contexts of climate-induced migration: a scoping review

Authors: Mary Olukotun; Ranjan Datta; Bukola Salami

Addresses: Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Level 3, Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, 11405-87 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1C9, Canada ' Department of Humanities, Mount Royal University, 4825 Mount Royal Gate SW, Calgary, T3E 6K6 AB, Canada ' Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Level 3, Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, 11405-87 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1C9, Canada

Abstract: The past several decades have been marked by an increasing occurrence of climate events worldwide, and consequentially, there has been growing study of the health impacts in exposed populations. While a plethora of studies have investigated the impact of climate change on health or migration, there is a smaller body of literature where these three concepts overlap, and an even smaller proportion of these are qualitative studies. Thus, this review sought to assess the breadth of the available qualitative literature on climate change as a primary driver for migration and the related health contexts. Our findings highlight the nuances of climate-influenced migration decisions and the challenges experienced by populations who have left their homes because of climate change impacts. Further research should focus on the health experiences and migration decisions of those exposed to climate change hazards to identify appropriate multi-level interventions in disaster planning and response.

Keywords: scoping review; climate change; climate migration; immigrant; human migration; displaced persons; human health; public health; global health; disaster response; qualitative.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGW.2022.124204

International Journal of Global Warming, 2022 Vol.27 No.3, pp.300 - 317

Received: 14 Jul 2021
Accepted: 19 Dec 2021
Published online: 18 Jul 2022 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article