Healthcare utilization profiles of young Ukrainian refugee children in Southern Poland in 2022

Background

Young refugee children are vulnerable to illness, injury, and disrupted healthcare after forced displacement. In 2022, Poland became a key exit route for millions of Ukrainian refugees after the Russian full-scale invasion, yet evidence on young children’s healthcare needs remains limited. Understanding their healthcare use is essential for planning and resource allocation. This study identified distinct healthcare utilization profiles among young Ukrainian refugee children in Southern Poland.

Methods

We conducted a registry-based retrospective study using public healthcare records from the Małopolska Voivodeship, one of the key transition-reception-temporary settlement areas in Poland. The study included 9,845 Ukrainian refugee children aged 0–5 years accessing healthcare between February 24 and December 31, 2022. Latent Class Analysis identified profiles based on healthcare setting, ICD-coded diagnoses, and utilization intensity. The timing of healthcare system entry was compared across profiles.

Results

Five distinct healthcare utilization profiles were identified: Mostly primary care (53.0%), Hospitalized with infectious diseases (15.6%), Highest healthcare use (13.5%), Emergency care for injuries (9.1%), and Primarily dental services (8.7%). Healthcare system entry peaked in April 2022. Children in the hospitalization and injury-related emergency care profiles entered the system significantly earlier than children in the other profiles (p < 0.001). Nearly 40% had one recorded service, while 19% had more than five.

Conclusions

Young refugee children showed distinct, time-sensitive healthcare needs after displacement. Findings support rapid expansion of pediatric emergency and inpatient capacity during the early phase of refugee crises, followed by stronger primary care and dental services. Recommended actions include co-located health and social support services to improve navigation and real-time surveillance systems to monitor changing needs.

Key messages

• Young Ukrainian refugee children showed five distinct healthcare use patterns, with early peaks in hospital and emergency care needs after forced displacement.

• Health systems should rapidly scale pediatric emergency care early, then strengthen primary and dental services as needs evolve over time.