Migration and health in Germany-available data sources

BackgroundMigration background plays an important role in analyses of health inequalities in Germany. The heterogeneity of people with and without migration background requires adifferentiated recording of migration-related characteristics. The latest overview of representative data sources from the Health Reporting (GBE) that included information on migration background was compiled in 2008.AimThe aim of this article is to describe existing data sources reporting the health situation of people with and without amigration background.Materials and MethodsStarting from the websites and publications of owners of GBE data, representative studies and routine data sources were identified. All sources that consider at least one migration-related characteristic were included. For all included studies, migration-related characteristics, information on the social situation, and health-related indicators were collected.ResultsA total of 46data sources (including 19routine data sources and 27studies) were included. The most common indicators of the migration background are nationality (n=36) and the country of birth (n=29). Health-related indicators cover awide range of issues.DiscussionRoutine data sources continue to collect little information on the migration background (usually only nationality) and thus constrain migration-differentiated analyses of the health situation. Survey data allow for more nuanced analysis. However, the actual analysis possibilities and content knowledge of the respective data sources were not the subject of this article.