Migrants travelling to their country of origin: a bridge population for HIV transmission?

Abstract

Older male travellers of Surinamese and Antillean origin are at high risk for cross-border heterosexual transmission of HIV/STIs. They should be targeted by prevention programmes, which are focused on sexual health education and HIV/STI testing, to raise their risk awareness and prevent transmission.

Why Surinamese migrants in the Netherlands continue to use medicinal herbs from their home country

“…Since many persons living in this suburb are not registered, it was decided not to use a random sample from the birth and dead register. Instead, people were directly approached 'on the street', a method frequently used in studies on migrant health in the Netherlands (e.g., Gras et al, 1999;Kramer et al, 2008). Students of both Dutch and Surinamese descent helped to carry out the face-to-face interviews.…”

How patterns of migration can influence the heterosexual transmission of HIV in The Netherlands

“…Migrants may already be infected when they enter the country. Also, they may engage in unsafe sexual practices in the country of residence and in their country of origin while visiting family and friends 4 5. Mathematical modelling indicates that HIV infection during visits of migrants to their home country is very rare, and that after migration transmission occurs mostly within migrant communities 6.…”

Comparison of healthcare costs between local and immigrant HIV populations living in Southern Alberta, Canada

“…We did not find any systematic or structural barriers to care once care was initiated although other factors may be influencing lower clinical attendance. We also have assumed most international migrants had acquired their HIV infection in their country of origin [27,28], but recognise that infection may have been acquired in the new host country after arrival [29], or even during subsequent travel back to their original country of origin [30,31,32]. Procrastination, denial or fear of social stigma may have adversely delayed our FBP population in being tested again for HIV or in volunteering their HIV status after arrival.…”