Perinatal Health Care Among Climate Migrant Women: Protocol for a Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Environmental Health
• Sociology

Background:

• Climate change drives international migration, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations.
• Migrant women face significant barriers to accessing essential maternal health services during pregnancy and postpartum.
• Existing research on climate-related migration and perinatal health is limited and fragmented.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of available evidence on maternal health and care for international climate-related migrant women.
• To examine the scope and nature of evidence from pregnancy through the postpartum period.
• To identify gaps in research and inform future interventions.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive scoping review following Joanna Briggs Institute methodology.
• Searches across Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Ovid MEDLINE databases, including gray literature.
• Inclusion of literature in English, French, Portuguese, or Spanish, with independent screening by two reviewers.

Main Results:

• Screening of 1113 records, with 741 studies evaluated.
• Results will detail perinatal health outcomes, care experiences, and barriers for climate-related migrant women.
• Findings will be reported using the PRISMA 2020 flow diagram.

Conclusions:

• Addressing migration-related vulnerabilities is crucial for equitable perinatal care access.
• Tailored interventions are needed to meet the social and cultural needs of climate-affected migrant women.
• This review provides critical insights for improving maternal health outcomes in this population.