Publication

Vaccine-preventable disease-related hospitalization among immigrants and refugees to Canada: study of linked population-based databases

Authored by:

Ng E, Sanmartin C, Elien-Massenat D, Manuel DG

Full Citation:

Ng E, Sanmartin C, Elien-Massenat D, Manuel DG 2016. Vaccine-preventable disease-related hospitalization among immigrants and refugees to Canada: study of linked population-based databases. Vaccine. 34.

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Additional key concepts from this publication:

Children from poorer refugee and migrant families have less access to health services and lower vaccination rates than the surrounding population.

Key Evidence: A study in Canada linking hospital data with census and immigration databases found that immigrants had age-adjusted hospitalization rates from vaccine-preventable diseases that were 33% higher than the rates of the Canadian-born population (1.6 vs. 1.2 per 10,000,) and rates were highest among refugees (1.7/10,000) and immigrants from East and Southeast Asia (2.1/10,000). Sixty percent of the hospitalizations related to vaccine-preventable diseases among recent immigrants were due to chronic hepatitis B infection, suggesting the need for hepatitis B screening guidelines for migrants, as well as vaccinations against a range of diseases for immigrants prior to or upon their arrival.