The growth of migrant communities continues to rise globally, creating unique and
complex health challenges. Literature on immigrant health in New Zealand (NZ)
remains scant. This integrative literature review was conducted drawing on peer-
reviewed research articles on immigrant health in NZ published between 2012 and
2018. The objectives were to: (i) provide a critical overview of immigrant health in
NZ; (ii) identify general trends in health research conducted in NZ on immigrants;
(iii) compare, contrast, and evaluate the quality of the information; (iv) develop a
summary of research results and; (v) identify priorities and recommendations for
future research. A search yielded more than 130 articles with 28 articles constituting
the foundation of the review. This review is timely following the rapid increase in
the scale, speed, and spread of immigration and its potential for changing NZ’s
national health patterns and priorities. This integrative review led to the four
primary conclusions. Firstly, migration in NZ is a gendered phenomenon, as there
has been more women and girls arriving as migrants in NZ and being at risk of
poor health in comparison with their male counterparts. Secondly, studies on
infectious diseases take precedence over other health problems. Thirdly, research
methodologies used to collect data may not be relevant to the cultural and
traditional customs of the migrant populations. Furthermore, a number of research
findings implemented have failed to meet the needs of NZ migrants. Lastly, policy
initiatives are inclined more towards supporting health practitioners and lack a
migrant centred approach.
- Citation: Kanengoni et al. (2018), Setting the stage: reviewing current knowledge on the health of New Zealand immigrants — an integrative review. Peer J 6:e5184; DOI 10.7717/peerj.5184
- Creator: Blessing Kanengoni , Sari Andajani-Sutjahjo and Eleanor Holroyd
- Language: English
- Publisher: Peer J
- Year: 2018-08-23
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