A new study which examines neighbourhood migrant density and outcomes among hospitalised patients with cancer before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden has been published in BMJ Open by a team of Japanese researchers and CHESS researchers Mikael Rostila, Daniel Nigusse Tollosa and Alexander Miething.
Migrant populations may experience inequalities in access to healthcare and health outcomes, and neighbourhood characteristics can play an important role in shaping these inequalities. However, less is known about how neighbourhood migrant density is associated with outcomes among hospitalised patients with cancer, particularly during public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Using Swedish register data, the researchers examined whether neighbourhood migrant density was associated with 90-day mortality and 90-day readmission among hospitalised patients with cancer. The study compared the period before the pandemic, 2014–2019, with the pandemic period, 2020–2021.
The findings showed that Swedish-born individuals and Western migrants living in neighbourhoods with high migrant density had higher rates of 90-day mortality and readmission before the pandemic. During the pandemic, mortality increased particularly among Western migrants, while readmission rates increased among all patients living in neighbourhoods with high migrant density.
The study suggests that cancer care for residents in neighbourhoods with high migrant density may need to be strengthened, especially during public health crises.
Read more: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2025-113681