Open research questions in Migration, Health and Trauma

What the literature leaves open

• Further research is needed to confirm the strong psychometric properties of the Ukrainian version of the CATS, - Investigation into the cultural variations in the portrayal of psychiatric symptoms is necessary, - Study of the historical abuse of psychiatry for political purposes in the former Eastern Bloc countries

  Post-traumatic Symptoms Among Ukrainian Refugee Minors and their Caregivers: A Descriptive Screening Study in Polish Refugee Camps · 2026 · DOI

• The paper identifies a gap in understanding the psychological distress among refugee populations, particularly children and adolescents. The study highlights the need for assessing post-traumatic stress symptoms among refugee minors and their caregivers. The paper notes that cultural factors and stigma can affect access to psychiatric care.

  Post-traumatic Symptoms Among Ukrainian Refugee Minors and their Caregivers: A Descriptive Screening Study in Polish Refugee Camps · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of practical checklists for assessing potentially traumatic events in the school context. The need for a checklist that is relevant to the Occupied Palestinian Territory context. The importance of including severity assessment and numerical weighting for each event in the checklist.

  The Development and Application of a Potentially Traumatic Events Checklist for Conflict-Affected Pupils Living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory · 2026 · DOI

• The study is a scoping review which aims to systematically identify and map the available evidence on a topic, - The small body of work available to date and the diverse research methods utilized among published papers are limitations, - Limited reviews on the topic are a limitation

  A Scoping Review of Strategies to Increase Newcomer Family Access to Early Childhood Services · 2026 · DOI

• limited research on strategies to increase access to home visiting and early intervention for newcomer families - lack of empirical testing of the relationship between identified strategies and improved access to early childhood services

  A Scoping Review of Strategies to Increase Newcomer Family Access to Early Childhood Services · 2026 · DOI

• The study identified challenges related to the implementation of the lay counselor Narrative Exposure Therapy training program, including safety concerns and the need for a more structured screening process. The paper notes that the trainees experienced emotional challenges during the training, including moderate levels of psychological inflexibility. The study highlights the challenge of recruiting and retaining trainees, particularly in a refugee, immigrant, and migrant population.

  When to Halt Implementation: Barriers in a Lay Counselor Narrative Exposure Therapy Training Program · 2026 · DOI

• The study had a small sample size of 23 participants, - The study was limited to a specific population in Clarkston, Georgia, - The study did not progress to community-based delivery

  When to Halt Implementation: Barriers in a Lay Counselor Narrative Exposure Therapy Training Program · 2026 · DOI

• The survey was conducted online, which may have limited the reach to refugees without access to the internet, - The survey relied on self-reported data, which may be subject to biases, - The sample size was limited to 659 respondents

  Barriers to healthcare access and continuity of care among Ukrainian war refugees in Europe: findings from the RefuHealthAccess study · 2025 · DOI

• One limitation of the present study is the lack of a screening question to distinguish between civilian and military respondents, - Another limitation is related to the sampling strategy, - Not all cutoff scores used for the psychological questionnaires have been validated specifically for the Ukrainian population

  Psychological wellbeing of Ukrainian civilians: a data report on the impact of traumatic events on mental health · 2025 · DOI

• The lack of studies on the psychological impacts of the Russian-Ukrainian war on civilians. The need for research on the mental health of Ukrainian civilians. The gap in understanding the effects of traumatic events on mental health.

  Psychological wellbeing of Ukrainian civilians: a data report on the impact of traumatic events on mental health · 2025 · DOI

• The paper identifies challenges faced by return migrants, including uncertainty, fear of failure, and doubts about their decision. It notes that return migrants often experience an identity crisis. The study highlights the need for a holistic approach to supporting return migrants.

  Identification of stress factors in returning migrants in Latvia · 2025 · DOI

• small sample size of 21 participants, - limited to return migrants in Latvia, - no control group, - reliance on self-reported data

  Identification of stress factors in returning migrants in Latvia · 2025 · DOI

• The temporal ordering of psychological symptoms and social functioning in refugees is unclear - Prior studies have not tested the direction of influence between social and psychological functioning within displaced refugee communities - There is a need to understand the direction of influence to identify the most powerful point of intervention

  The longitudinal relationship between psychological symptoms and social functioning in displaced refugees · 2025 · DOI

• The lack of discussion on the duties owed to migrant children in the context of immigration and detention. The gap between global justice literature and work on children's autonomy and well-being. The inadequacy of open border arguments in describing the detention of migrant children.

  Detained Migrant Children, Autonomy, and Positive Duties · 2025 · DOI

• This question is outside the scope of this specific article but could be examined at length elsewhere. Although this article is not particularly interested in the relationship between childhood and adulthood in terms of intrinsic goods, it is an open question if the list generated here could have equal benefit to adult migrants in detention.

  Detained Migrant Children, Autonomy, and Positive Duties · 2025 · DOI

• Language difficulties and long waiting times for healthcare services. Inconsistent access to social services, particularly in smaller municipalities. Lack of coordination between social and healthcare services.

  Experiences and challenges of refugees from Ukraine in accessing healthcare and social services during their integration in Lithuania · 2024 · DOI

• The study only included Russian-speaking female Ukrainian refugees, - The sample size was limited to 22 participants, - The study did not include males aged 18-60 due to the war situation, - The study did not explore the experiences of refugees in other countries

  Experiences and challenges of refugees from Ukraine in accessing healthcare and social services during their integration in Lithuania · 2024 · DOI

• The issue of how a formerly discriminated minority responds to stress has not been investigated empirically. There is a lack of understanding of how ethnic origin affects coping with extreme stress.

  Ethnic origin of Israeli Jews and psychological responses to the extreme stress of the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza · 2024 · DOI

• Investigate the longitudinal effects of social participation on depressive symptoms, - Examine the role of social support in other refugee populations, - Explore the impact of social network type on mental health outcomes

  Social participation and depression among resettled Syrian refugees: examining a moderated mediation of social support and bonding or bridging social capital · 2024 · DOI

• The mechanisms by which social participation, social support, and social network interact to affect refugee mental health are not well understood. Prior research has not fully examined the role of social support and social network in the relationship between social participation and depressive symptoms.

  Social participation and depression among resettled Syrian refugees: examining a moderated mediation of social support and bonding or bridging social capital · 2024 · DOI

• The gap in the literature is the lack of understanding of the stigmatization experiences of refugees, particularly in the context of seeking psychological support. The paper identifies the need for a nuanced understanding of the stigmatization experiences that refugees may face. The gap also includes the lack of examination of the stigma associated with seeking psychological support in specific refugee populations.

  On the importance of understanding and addressing stigmatization experiences in refugees · 2024 · DOI

• The study had a limited sample size - The study had a high dropout rate of 41,7% - The study was conducted in a specific population of refugees and asylum seekers in Germany

  Characterizing of dropouts in the mental health of refugees and asylum seekers (MEHIRA) study examining the effects of a stepped and collaborative care model – a multicentered rater-blinded randomized controlled trial · 2024 · DOI

• Future research should investigate the effectiveness of culturally sensitive SCCM in different populations - Future research should examine the impact of social relationships, social status, and living conditions on treatment outcomes - Future research should develop strategies to reduce dropout rates in psychological interventions

  Characterizing of dropouts in the mental health of refugees and asylum seekers (MEHIRA) study examining the effects of a stepped and collaborative care model – a multicentered rater-blinded randomized controlled trial · 2024 · DOI

• Further research is needed to investigate the barriers to healthcare access for Ukrainian refugees, - Studies should explore the effectiveness of different interventions to improve healthcare access for refugees, - Research should focus on the long-term health outcomes of refugees and the impact of healthcare access on their well-being

  Barriers to healthcare access and continuity of care among Ukrainian war refugees in Europe: findings from the RefuHealthAccess study · 2025 · DOI

• Gender-based violence was prevalent, with survivors often silenced by threats of deportation and limited knowledge of legal protections.

  “If I call the police, are they going to ask for my status?” A narrative analysis of Latin American immigrants’ experiences of victimization · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Migration, Health and Trauma

• The New Second Generation: Segmented Assimilation and its Variants · The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science · 1993 · 3,399 citations
• Association of Torture and Other Potentially Traumatic Events With Mental Health Outcomes Among Populations Exposed to Mass Conflict and Displacement · JAMA · 2009 · 1,865 citations
• COVID-19 and Racial/Ethnic Disparities · JAMA · 2020 · 1,824 citations
• Prevalence of serious mental disorder in 7000 refugees resettled in western countries: a systematic review · The Lancet · 2005 · 1,721 citations
• Rethinking the concept of acculturation: Implications for theory and research. · American Psychologist · 2010 · 1,629 citations
• Predisplacement and Postdisplacement Factors Associated With Mental Health of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons · JAMA · 2005 · 1,448 citations
• Common mental health problems in immigrants and refugees: general approach in primary care · Canadian Medical Association Journal · 2010 · 1,147 citations
• Towards an Interactive Acculturation Model: A Social Psychological Approach · International Journal of Psychology · 1997 · 1,116 citations
• Mental health of displaced and refugee children resettled in high-income countries: risk and protective factors · The Lancet · 2011 · 1,096 citations
• Ethnic Identity, Immigration, and Well‐Being: An Interactional Perspective · Journal of Social Issues · 2001 · 1,049 citations

Most recent work

• ICE and Palantir: US agents using health data to hunt “illegal immigrants” · BMJ · 2026
• The Effects of Armed Conflict on Children and Adolescents: Policy Statement · PEDIATRICS · 2026
• Evidence based mental health interventions for children in fragile and conflict affected settings: expanding reach and system strengthening · BMJ · 2026
• “I Own My Life Now”: Implications of Trauma Survivors' Language Acquisition for a Pedagogy of Empowerment in TESOL · TESOL Quarterly · 2026
• “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”—Professional quality of life in Ukrainian mental health care professionals during the ongoing war. · Traumatology · 2026
• Long term effects of childhood exposure to violence in fragile and conflict affected settings · BMJ · 2026
• Health Consequences of Immigration Enforcement in U.S. Communities · New England Journal of Medicine · 2026
• Integrating child mental health responses into recovery, development, and peacebuilding in fragile and conflict affected settings · BMJ · 2026
• Mortality in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention · JAMA · 2026
• Associations between early-life unpredictability and mental health during the Israel-Hamas war · Journal of Affective Disorders · 2026

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