Integration of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Europe: A Scoping Review of Interventions

Integration of refugees and asylum seekers into the local communities within host countries is a pivotal aspect of rebuilding this population’s lives with dignity. However, establishing and maintaining effective integration programmes remain challenging for resettlement countries and their partners in Europe. This scoping review aims to identify and characterize existing integration interventions in Europe and evaluate their implementation strategies and effectiveness. We systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, and ASSIA databases from inception to 15 March 2024 for relevant articles. We also searched grey literature for additional relevant articles. The scoping review was conducted to identify original research articles on integration interventions targeting any of the four integration outcomes of health and social care, work, housing, and education among refugees and asylum seekers. We conducted a narrative synthesis of our findings. The literature search generated 1237 studies, of which 16 articles met the inclusion criteria. The interventions, predominantly from Sweden and the UK, were diverse and conducted among different categories of refugees and asylum seekers and various settings, including community-based and school-based settings. They were delivered by local authorities and non-profits, with some involving volunteer refugees and asylum seekers. Interventions led to improvements in education (n = 3), health and social care (n = 10), work (n = 3), and housing (n = 2). The review findings show that a variety of interventions in diverse settings have been implemented in Europe to promote integration among refugees and asylum seekers, and the majority register positive outcomes. Investment in integration programmes for immigrants is a crucial step toward the improvement of various social and health outcomes.