Patience Castleton

Men represent more than half of the world’s migrant population, yet their health care challenges remain under researched. Evidence highlights that culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) men face substantial barriers to health care access post-migration, particularly in sexual and reproductive health (SRH). This study aimed to analyse health care access, including SRH, among Australian-born and CALD men, using data from the Ten to Men Longitudinal study, collected across four waves (2013–2022), including 12,661 non-CALD and 1,106 CALD men. Cross-sectional analyses of data from the first and last waves compared access to SRH and health care between these men, with longitudinal analyses conducted for outcomes measured across multiple waves. Overall, CALD men were less likely to have accessed health care in the last 12 months compared with non-CALD men, including specialist, allied and mental health care. CALD men were more likely to encounter socio-economic (odds ratio [OR]: 1.17; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.69, 1.97) and COVID-19 barriers (2.01; 95% CI: 1.22, 3.34) when accessing health care. Similar patterns were observed in SRH access, where CALD men were less likely to seek medical help (OR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.28, 1.21) than non-CALD men, consistent with longitudinal findings. CALD men were less likely to seek health care or seek medical professionals for SRH and were more likely to face socio-economic barriers than non-CALD men. The findings underscore the urgent need for increased accessibility to culturally sensitive health care immediately post-migration. Tailoring information and services to diverse languages and cultural needs, alongside policy reforms addressing socio-cultural barriers, is essential to ensure equitable and inclusive health care systems.

Background: Sexual health research with migrant and refugee communities presents unique challenges, shaped by cultural sensitivities, stigma, and the under-representation of these populations in health research. However, lived experiences insights are essential for the development of appropriate and useful research and health initiatives. It is important to learn from researchers’ experiences to expand the representation of migrant and refugee community voices. Method: This paper draws on two qualitative studies conducted in South Australia: one exploring the sexual and reproductive health perspectives of refugee and migrant women, and the other of men. We reflect upon the methodological and ethical considerations in conducting research in this sensitive field and provide recommendations for future researchers and healthcare providers when working with migrant and refugee communities. Results: Both studies encountered difficulties in relation to participant recruitment, cross-cultural communication, and addressing taboos surrounding sexual health. At the same time, they highlighted opportunities for generating meaningful insights through culturally safe, gender-sensitive approaches and collaboration with community stakeholders. Conclusions: By synthesising experiences from both projects, we identify practical strategies for building trust, overcoming linguistic and cultural barriers, and creating supportive environments for discussing sensitive topics. These reflections offer guidance for researchers and clinicians aiming to advance culturally responsive sexual health research and strengthen healthcare provision for migrant and refugee populations.

This event is being run in awareness of International Women’s Day, with the purpose to highlight the importance of emerging voices in shaping women’s health research and policy. Big Questions in Women’s Health What is the biggest unanswered question in your area of women’s health? What populations remain underrepresented in research? Careers, Barriers, and Equity What barriers do you face as an emerging female researcher? How can institutions better support early career researchers and PhD candidates? What role do mentorship and networks play in overcoming barriers? Systems Change and Future Directions How can research better influence policy and practice? Where do you see the greatest opportunities for interdisciplinary work (e.g., AI, economics, social sciences, law)? If you could redesign the system, what would you change and why? Ask the Editors-in-Chief In light of ongoing wars and displacement globally, what do you see as the most urgent women’s health needs in conflict and humanitarian settings? Where do you see the greatest opportunities for interdisciplinary work to advance women’s health (e.g., AI, economics, social sciences, law)? How can journals and editors better amplify emerging voices in women’s health, especially from the Global South?

Objective: The objective of this gap map is to provide an overview of existing evidence on the health of South Asian migrants and refugees in Australia and highlight research gaps. Method: We searched four databases until June 2025 to include quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods studies conducted in Australia and published from the year 2000 onwards on health of migrants and refugees from South Asian countries. Two reviewers screened titles/abstracts and full texts using Covidence to establish eligibility. The included studies were then coded in Evidence for Policy & Practice Information Centre - Reviewer (EPPI-Reviewer) to generate a gap map. Results: The evidence gap map summarises findings from 129 studies (66 qualitative, 52 quantitative and 11 mixed methods studies) reporting on the health and well-being of migrants from South Asian countries residing in Australia. The gap map depicts that mental health conditions, non-communicable diseases and maternal health are relatively well-evidenced domains compared with other health conditions. Knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and behaviours are the most frequently evaluated outcomes, followed by experiences with healthcare system, prevalence of health conditions and factors associated with healthcare access and utilisation. There are evident data gaps assessing survival/mortality, access and utilisation of health services and cost-effectiveness. There is sparse evidence on the effectiveness of interventions/strategies to improve health status, access and utilisation of health services and their impact on survival and mortality. Health literacy, language proficiency, competing priorities, negative beliefs, past experiences, confusion in navigating the healthcare system and cost of services were reported as barriers in accessing healthcare services. Conclusions: These findings highlight the scarcity of evidence beyond the descriptive measures on health of South Asian migrants in Australia. Implications: Priority areas for future research include generating data to establish causal relationships between population-specific risk factors and adverse health outcomes by establishing long-term cohorts. These data would assist in designing and evaluating context-specific interventions that are feasible and acceptable to improve health outcomes in this population.

Migration exposes people to unfamiliar gender roles and sexual views, influencing the ways they care for their sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Migrant men’s health is overlooked in care and research, prohibiting culturally responsive care that acknowledges these changing beliefs. Thus, we aimed to synthesise the available evidence on the ways pre-established gender norms impact a man’s SRH in the setting of migration to a high-income country. We aimed to investigate how refugee and migrant men viewed gender and gender roles in their countries of resettlement and how they experience their SRH in this country. We systematically searched scientific databases and grey literature (published between 2000–2023), using a search strategy covering four major topics: CALD/migrants, men, gender and SRH. Two reviewers independently screened the titles and abstracts of 7,840 articles and reviewed the full text of 180 articles. Thematic analysis of 36 articles revealed three key themes: (a) depleted masculinity, (ii) sex and sexuality, and (iii) accessing SRH care in a new country, all influencing how migrant men viewed masculinity, engaged in SRH services and approached sexual relationships. Further, navigating new cultural norms and gendered expectations often resulted in feelings of depleted masculinity, impacting men’s wellbeing, intimate relationships and confidence to seek SRH care after migration. We found that migrant men largely carried pre-established beliefs of sex and gender roles from their home country to their host country. This had mainly negative repercussions on their relationships and SRH behaviours post-migration and should be acknowledged in future research and interventions.

The adolescent years are pivotal in reproductive and sexual development and maturation, yet the experience of migration can severely disrupt this period, inhibiting young immigrants’ knowledge, access, and engagement with sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Further, young immigrants and minority populations often face persistent intersectional barriers, including language difficulties, cultural stigma, and systemic exclusion, that result in adverse SRH outcomes. Recent advances in SRH care, particularly in digital health and community-based interventions, show promise in improving access to culturally appropriate SRH services and information. Co-designing SRH programs with families and young immigrants to adequately acknowledge the unique cultural norms and barriers in SRH is essential in ensuring a high outreach of interventions. Shifts in traditional health policies are needed to ensure that immigrant and minority adolescents are not overlooked and that SRH programs incorporate culturally relevant content that is easily and widely accessible. Despite positive shifts, several barriers remain: limited disaggregated data on diverse populations, inadequate policy attention, and the insufficient scalability and funding of promising interventions. Future research and promotional efforts must prioritise the co-creation of SRH interventions with stakeholders and affected communities, ensuring that services are sustainable, culturally appropriate, and accessible to all adolescents.