International migration and social work: A review of the literature

Citation

Shier ML, Engstrom S & Graham JR (2011) International migration and social work: A review of the literature. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies, 9 (1), pp. 38-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2011.547825

Abstract
This study analyzes literature about international migration using a keyword search with the terms, “immigrat*,” “migrat*,” and “refugee” in the abstracts (N = 1,391) of peer-reviewed journal articles in two databases. While there has been an overall increase in the number of publications in each 5-year interval since 1985, the majority (59%) of articles had first authors affiliated with the United States. Thematic analysis found that the content of these articles clustered around four main themes: (a) demographics and/or context(s); (b) service delivery; (c) health and mental health needs; and (d) macro-level or systemic issues. In conclusion, implications for research and social work practice are discussed.

Keywords
immigration; literature review; migration; refugees; social work; thematic analysis

Journal
Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies: Volume 9, Issue 1