# Community health assets and refugee wellbeing: Qualitative evidence across mental health, disability inclusion, end-of-life care, and women’s health – A global scoping review

## TL;DR

This review explores how community health assets support refugee wellbeing in mental health, disability inclusion, women's health, and end-of-life care.

## Contribution

It synthesizes fragmented qualitative evidence across four domains to identify common barriers and effective strategies for refugee health interventions.

## Key findings

- Common barriers include stigma, gender-based violence, and limited access to specialized services.
- Effective strategies include peer-led support and culturally concordant providers.
- Trust and culturally safe engagement are central to successful interventions.

## Abstract

Refugee populations face heightened and intersecting vulnerabilities across mental health, disability inclusion, women’s health, and end-of-life and palliative care, shaped by displacement, trauma, legal precarity, and systemic marginalization. Although community-centered approaches are increasingly recognized as critical for addressing these challenges, qualitative evidence on how community health assets support refugee wellbeing remains fragmented across domains. This scoping review aimed to map and synthesize qualitative evidence on community-based health interventions for refugee populations across four thematic areas: mental health, disability inclusion, women’s health, and end-of-life and palliative care. The review followed Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and was conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidance. A comprehensive search of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science identified qualitative studies published between 2010 and 2025. Studies were screened using predefined eligibility criteria, with data charted and thematically analyzed using a cross-domain Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research–Proctor hybrid framework to examine implementation barriers, facilitators, and outcomes. Study quality was appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme qualitative checklist. The search yielded 2,576 records, of which 1,918 unique records were screened and 126 articles underwent full-text review. Forty-nine studies met inclusion criteria across the four domains. Common barriers included stigma, gender-based violence, legal insecurity, cultural and language discordance, and limited access to specialized services. Effective strategies included peer-led psychosocial support, culturally concordant providers, integrated community-based care models, and safe spaces for women and marginalized groups. Methodological limitations were noted in ethical reporting, researcher reflexivity, and analytic transparency. Across domains, trust, continuity of care, and culturally safe engagement consistently emerged as central to acceptability and feasibility. This review synthesizes cross-domain qualitative evidence and highlights community health assets as critical, scalable platforms for advancing equitable and context-responsive refugee health interventions in both emergency and resettlement settings.