Migrant and ethnic health research: report on the European Public Health Association Conference 2007.

Europe largely shifted from being a region of net emigration to one of net immigration during the second half of the 20th Century. Multi-ethnic societies in Europe are faced with a multiplicity of challenges, including meeting the diverse health and healthcare needs of ethnic-minority groups. A major issue facing Europe is filling the current gap in the availability of high-quality data on health determinants, health status and health service use among migrant populations throughout the region. As evidence-based decision making in public health and healthcare greatly depends on the availability of relevant health information, improving the collection of valid and comparable ethnic-minority health data should be regarded as a high priority. Migration, ethnicity and health researchers across Europe have been building alliances, particularly through the migrant health section of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA). The 2007 EUPHA Conference in Helsinki highlighted the public health challenges and opportunities facing an ever-growing and increasingly diversified European region, and provided public health professionals and researchers a platform to share their work, concerns and visions for the future. As the ethnic diversification of Europe continues, the challenges to the unification of its many populations become even more unpredictable. Such diversity may ease unification or could exacerbate existing political and economic tensions. It behooves us to take the actions now that will make Europe a more cohesive and successful place in the years to come.