The collection and integration of data on migrants in health information systems: evidence from Ireland

Background Addressing disparities and promoting health for migrants requires policies and practices that are grounded in comprehensive and accurate health data. Health Information Systems (HIS) play a crucial role in this process. However, data on migrants is often incomplete and of poor quality in European HIS. A recent scoping review identified a gap in research on strengthening HIS for data on the health of migrants in Ireland, a country where one in five of the population has been born abroad. This study aims to address this gap. Methods Using WHO European Region technical guidance on the collection and integration of data on the health of refugees and migrants, we mapped national data repositories (N = 128 repositories) including administrative sources, censuses, surveys and patient registries. We identified repositories collecting migration-related variables, such as country of birth, citizenship, and language spoken. For relevant repositories, information was extracted on the variables collected, the use of inclusive data collection strategies such as multilingual surveys, whether there was a procedure to access the data for secondary data analysis, the potential for data linkage and how the data had been used. Results Of the 128 data repositories, 28 (22%) recorded migration-related variables. The majority of these repositories (18/28) recorded country of birth, followed by nationality (6/28). Four repositories recorded language(s) spoken and only two national surveys translated the survey instrument into different languages. No examples were identified of migration-related variables being used or analysed in national or regional disease registries and there was limited use of data linkage. Conclusions The collection and integration of data on the health of migrants in HIS in Ireland is fragmented. Enhancing data collection practices, for example by using multilingual surveys and inclusive sampling strategies with participatory approaches, could improve the representation of migrant populations and the quality of data collected. Adapting policy considerations from WHO at a country level provides an opportunity to standardise data collection and establish a robust evidence base to inform equitable health policies and practices for migrants.