OBJECTIVES:

With the current refugee crisis, European countries are tasked with handling displaced persons as well as the infectious, chronic diseases they carry. This study seeks to understand the flow of European country groups in terms of infectious, chronic diseases and migration integration indicators.

METHODS:

Eurostat statistics data were assessed for the year 2014. Turkey and 28 European countries were examined. The Expectation Maximization clustering algorithm was used for clustering, and the U test was used to identify the differences between country clusters in terms of study variables. A flow (Sankey) diagram was created to visualize the flow of European country clusters.

RESULTS:

Study results indicate two different clusters in terms of infectious, chronic diseases and migration integration indicators. Country clusters differ in the total number of reported cases of measles (U=47, p<0.05) and total number of migrations (U=45, p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS:

Study results pose several implications for future studies concerning the refugee crisis. Health policy makers in European countries should focus on building cost-effective services to provide primary health care for refugees. Measures to address health inequalities, integration of refugees to reduce threats from infectious and chronic diseases, and increased collaboration are essential strategies to maximize quality care during the refugee crisis.