An Analysis of Papers on Migration Presented at National Public Health Congresses

Objective: Although the topic of migration in Turkey was brought back into focus following the Syrian civil war in 2011, it has long been an issue in our country, particularly regarding irregular migrants and seasonal agricultural workers. The impact of migration movements is felt across all aspects of public health. An examination of public health congresses highlights how global and national changes impact scientific advancements in public health. This study aims to investigate the migration-related papers presented at National Public Health Congresses, categorized by year. Methods: The population of this descriptive-review study consisted of the papers presented in 24 Public Health Congresses held in Turkey between 1988 and 2022. The selected papers were evaluated by bibliometric method and content analysis. Results: The 8,451 papers in the congress books were analyzed and 131 relevant papers were evaluated. While 58.8% of the papers are about external migration movements, 93.5% of them are about forced migration movements. Seasonal agricultural workers are the most studied group in internal migration studies. While the weight of the papers presented before 2012 was related to the internal migration movements, the focus of the papers presented in the congresses in 2012 and after was shifted to the forced-external migration studies, especially the studies related to the Syrians. Occupational health was the most frequently studied topic concerning internal migration movements. For external migration movements, the most commonly studied topic was women's and reproductive health. Less than 10% of the papers were sent from nursing faculties. Conclusion: In recent years, it has been observed that internal migration research has lost its weight in migration health research and migration health research has not gone beyond some basic topics.