International migration, food insecurity, and mental health: A scoping review protocol

Abstract

Introduction Food insecurity is a global priority that has been found to negatively impact mental health, increasing the risk of mental disorders and severe mental illness. International migrants may face food insecurity throughout their migratory cycle due to a range of risk factors, such as poor transit conditions, precarious employment, financial pressure, discrimination, and lack of availability and access to culturally relevant food, among others. Although there are multiple reviews on migration, food insecurity, and health in general, no scoping review has been conducted on food insecurity among international migrants focusing on mental health. Objective To investigate the available evidence on food insecurity and mental health among international migrants. Methods A search of scientific literature in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese published since 2013 will be performed in the Web of Science, PubMed, Medline, APA PsycArticles, Cinahl, and ASSIA databases, including grey literature available in Google Scholar. Two authors will independently review titles, abstracts, and full texts before extracting data from publications complying with the eligibility criteria. Extracted data will be descriptively mapped according to emerging thematic categories. Expected results the review will contribute to identifying what is known about international migration, food insecurity, and mental health, gaps in the literature, opportunities for specific research subtopics, and how food insecurity and mental health can be linked in the existing literature.

Keywords

• international migration
• food insecurity
• mental health