Health of people with selected citizenships: results of the study GEDA Fokus

Abstract

Background The health situation of people with a history of migration is influenced by a variety of factors. This article provides an overview of the health of people with selected citizenships using various indicators. Methods The analyses are based on the survey ‘German Health Update: Fokus (GEDA Fokus)’, which was conducted from November 2021 to May 2022 among people with Croatian, Italian, Polish, Syrian and Turkish citizenship. The prevalence for each health outcome is presented and differentiated by sociodemographic and migration-related characteristics. Poisson regressions were performed to identify relevant factors influencing health situation. Results Self-assessed general health, the presence of depressive symptoms, prevalence of current smoking and the utilisation of general and specialist healthcare differed according to various factors considered here. In addition to sociodemographic determinants, the sense of belonging to society in Germany and self-reported experiences of discrimination were particularly associated with health outcomes. Conclusions This article highlights the heterogeneity of the health situation of people with a history of migration and points to the need for further analyses to identify the reasons for health inequalities.

Intersectional inequalities in health anxiety: multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy in the SOMA.SOC study

“…Since the differentiation of history of migration is specific to German health research, we refer to studies investigating the German population. Concordant, a longer duration of residence was found to be an important determinant of depressive symptoms and worse subjective health status, especially among men (14,37). Contrary to our expectations, the intersectional strata a priori defined as the most advantaged, namely males with no migration history and high income, only had the fourth lowest level of health anxiety.…”

“…Against the background of low income as the most impactful of the three investigated social dimensions, our study revealed further evidence for the great importance of economic deprivation in light of other social characteristics such as history of migration (14). The relevance of socioeconomic disadvantage in health anxiety was also demonstrated in a recent meta-analysis (9).…”

“…Hence, participants were allocated to the following three categories: no history of migration, parent(s) immigrated, or immigrated themselves. Due to the historical context of so called guest workers, late emigrants, and refugees, German research mostly assesses history of migration instead of race/ethnicity ( 14 , 26 ). To take differences in household size and composition into account, the net monthly household income was adjusted for household size ( 27 ).…”

“…Intersectionality is rooted in Black feminist theory and can be understood as a framework to understand interactions of multiple social categories leading to disadvantage, discrimination, and inequality ( 12 , 13 ). Stress exposure due to, e.g., sexism or racism and subsequent coping mechanisms can result in higher morbidity and mortality ( 14 ). Besides experiences of discrimination on the individual level, multiple discrimination can occur on a structural level diminishing peoples’ social power and opportunity for political participation ( 15 ).…”

Cultural immersion, acculturation strategies, and depressive symptoms among first-generation Vietnamese migrants in Germany

“…Extensive research has been conducted on these migration related stress factors, assuming these stressors to represent significant risk factors for depression ( Berry, 2019 ; Foo et al, 2018 ; Gleeson et al, 2020 ). International meta-analytic data reveals a depression prevalence of 15.6% among migrants globally ( Foo et al, 2018 ), while recent German panel data indicates that 20.6% of migrant respondents reported depressive symptoms ( Bartig et al, 2023 ). Although the impact of the experience of migration on the mental health of migrants is evident ( Berry, 2019 ; Bhugra, 2004 ; Foo et al, 2018 ; Gleeson et al, 2020 ; Jannesari et al, 2020 ; Kluge et al, 2019 ; Metzing et al, 2020 ; Schwartz et al, 2010 ; ration on the mental health of migrants is Walther et al, 2020 ; WHO, 2022 ) the underlying processes are complex and remain insufficiently studied ( Balidemaj & Small, 2019 ; Berry, 2019 ; Bornstein, 2017 ; Choy et al, 2021 ; Foo et al, 2018 ; Kluge et al, 2019 ; Mesquita et al, 2019 ).…”