Measurement tools used to assess individual health assets among refugee populations: a scoping review.

Abstract

Forced migration is increasing globally, which has detrimental effects on the physical and mental health of refugees, who may face significant challenges accessing healthcare services. However, refugees also possess considerable strengths or assets that can protect against various health challenges. Identifying and strengthening the individual health assets of refugees is critical to promoting their health and mitigating these health challenges. Yet, there is a paucity of data on refugees' individual health assets, including tools to measure them. Therefore, this scoping review aimed to identify and summarise the available measurement tools to assess the individual health assets of refugees. We conducted a comprehensive literature search using six electronic databases and a Google search without restrictions on publication dates. We used Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework approach to streamline the review processes. Forty-one eligible studies were included, from which 28 individual health asset tools were identified. Of these, 11 tools were tested for validity in refugee populations. Among the validated tools, the reliability scores for the measures of individual health asset outcomes, including resilience (Child and Youth Resilience Measure, Wagnild and Young's Resilience Scale, and Psychological Resilience Scale), acculturation (Vancouver Index of Acculturation and Bicultural Involvement Questionnaire), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), and self-efficacy (Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale), ranged from good to excellent. The findings provide guidance for health service planners, humanitarian organisations, and researchers regarding the appropriateness and quality of tools that can be applied to assess individual health assets, which are crucial for designing culturally sensitive asset-based health promotion interventions for refugees.