Immigration and transition: Changing demographics forecast the emerging trends in spina bifida care

Abstract

Globally, the number of immigrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons is escalating. While immigration is often a result of social determinants, including political discrimination, poverty, education, and work-related prospects, immigration itself can also be conceptualized as a social determinant of health. Through the National Spina Bifida Patient Registry (NSBPR), investigators have begun to recognize existing disparities within growing minority populations affected by spina bifida. Concurrently these individuals are also living longer, therefore, these demographic shifts in age and ethnicity give rise to the dawn of a new era in care. Thus, a call has gone out for multicenter learning collaboratives to face these newfound challenges. An example of such emergent learning collaboratives is the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Spina Bifida Transition Project, sponsored by the CDC, an approach in accordance with the recently published Guidelines for the Care of People with Spina Bifida. Henceforth, it can also be trusted that related original research published in JPRM will continue to serve as a catalyst for culturally-competent investigation and comparative analysis to improve care worldwide.

Keywords: Learning collaborative; continuum of care transition; globalization/immigration; health disparities; immigrant health; minority health; quality of life; social determinants of health.