Migration and health: a review of policies and initiatives in low and middle income countries

Borhade, Anjali; Dey, Subhojit; Tripathi, Anita; Mavalankar, Dileep; Webster, Premila

doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(16)32262-0

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the effects of non-health-targeted public policies on migrant health. Although previous research has found health inequalities among migrants as a result of societal and institutional factors—many of which are affected by public policies 68 —little has been done to isolate the effects of these policies on migrant health. Furthermore, comprehensive evidence on policies across country contexts and migrant populations has been lacking.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of non-health-targeted policies on migrant health: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Juárez

Honkaniemi

Dunlavy

et al. 2019

The Lancet Global Health

112

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SummaryBackgroundGovernment policies can strongly influence migrants' health. Using a Health in All Policies approach, we systematically reviewed evidence on the impact of public policies outside of the health-care system on migrant health.MethodsWe searched the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases from Jan 1, 2000, to Sept 1, 2017, for quantitative studies comparing the health effects of non-health-targeted public policies on migrants with those on a relevant comparison population. We searched for articles written in English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, French, Spanish, or Portuguese. Qualitative studies and grey literature were excluded. We evaluated policy effects by migration stage (entry, integration, and exit) and by health outcome using narrative synthesis (all included studies) and random-effects meta-analysis (all studies whose results were amenable to statistical pooling). We summarised meta-analysis outcomes as standardised mean difference (SMD, 95% CI) or odds ratio (OR, 95% CI). To assess certainty, we created tables containing a summary of the findings according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation. Our study was registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42017076104.FindingsWe identified 43 243 potentially eligible records. 46 articles were narratively synthesised and 19 contributed to the meta-analysis. All studies were published in high-income countries and examined policies of entry (nine articles) and integration (37 articles). Restrictive entry policies (eg, temporary visa status, detention) were associated with poor mental health (SMD 0·44, 95% CI 0·13–0·75; I2=92·1%). In the integration phase, restrictive policies in general, and specifically regarding welfare eligibility and documentation requirements, were found to increase odds of poor self-rated health (OR 1·67, 95% CI 1·35–1·98; I2=82·0%) and mortality (1·38, 1·10–1·65; I2=98·9%). Restricted eligibility for welfare support decreased the odds of general health-care service use (0·92, 0·85–0·98; I2=0·0%), but did not reduce public health insurance coverage (0·89, 0·71–1·07; I2=99·4%), nor markedly affect proportions of people without health insurance (1·06, 0·90–1·21; I2=54·9%).InterpretationRestrictive entry and integration policies are linked to poor migrant health outcomes in high-income countries. Efforts to improve the health of migrants would benefit from adopting a Health in All Policies perspective.FundingSwedish Council for Health, Working Life, and Social Research; UK Medical Research Council; Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of non-health-targeted policies on migrant health: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Juárez

Honkaniemi

Dunlavy

et al. 2019

The Lancet Global Health

112

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“…Various surveys and studies have shown that migrants are disadvantaged relative to the native population regarding employment, education and health. It is difficult to pinpoint specific separate reasons for this, such as deficient education, interior health care provision, absence of outreach programs for them, poor wages, initial prejudice and sustained discrimination of health providers, but these factors mutually reinforce each other (Borhade, 2016).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobility and morbidity of regular and seasonal migrants in India

Bhattacharjee

2021

IJMHSC

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Purpose Internal migration has grown intensively in India in the present decades, far greater than international migration, though the latter has received far more attention in literature and public policy. Among internal migrants, seasonal movement is another growing phenomenon in India which has received the least attention till now. The purpose of the study is to show the intensities of short-term morbidity and major morbidity among the rural and urban internal migrants and how such disease burdens have affected the health of regular/permanent and temporary/seasonal migrants. Design/methodology/approach This present paper has been developed on the basis of data of India Human Development Survey-II (IHDS-II), 2011–2012, has been availed to find out the intensities of short-term morbidity and major morbidity among the rural and urban migrants as well as the health condition of the seasonal migrants. For the analysis of regular or permanent migrants, a total of 3,288 migrants (of which 1,136 rural migrants and 2,152 urban migrants) were surveyed in IHDS-II, 2011–2012, regarding the persistence of different types of short-term morbidity among the migrant class. Two-sample (rural migrants and urban migrants) “t” test for mean difference with unequal variances with null hypothesis – H0: diff = 0, and alternate hypothesis – Ha: diff < 0; Ha: diff > 0 where diff = mean (rural) – mean (urban) has been executed. For the seasonal migrants a sample of 41,424 migrants of which 2,691 seasonal migrant workers and 38,733 non-seasonal migrant workers were surveyed in IHDS-II, 2011–2012, to find out their health condition. OLS regression on the number of medical treatments undertaken in a month on the nature of migrant workers has been conducted. Socio-economic factors (like adult literacy) and basic amenities required for a healthy living (like indoor piped drinking water, separate kitchen in the household, household having a flush toilet, household having electricity and intake of meals everyday) are taken as control variables in the regression analysis. Findings The results of morbidity analysis in this paper show that the morbidity patterns among the migrants vary with the geographical differences. The short-term morbidity and that of the major morbidity show different proneness to ill health for rural and urban migrants. However, seasonal migrants are more susceptible to ill health than the regular migrants and are also potential for generating health risks. Also lack of provision of basic services creates negative health impact on seasonal migrants. Research limitations/implications The paper is based on secondary data and hence lacks numerous relevant health issues of migrants in rural and urban sectors which could have been possible through primary data survey. Practical implications Migration and migrants are a relevant issue both internationally and nationally. Economic development of a country like India depends to a greater extent on the contributions of migrant labourers as majority of the labourers in India belong to informal sector of which most of the workers are from migrant class. Social implications Migrants contribution to economic development depend on their productive capacity and hence health of these section of people is a relevant issue. This study is based on the morbidity pattern of migrants both regular and seasonal migrants and their susceptibility in various geographical locations and provision of basic amenities. Originality/value This work is original research study by the author.

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“…A few studies done in Indonesia and China support the healthy migrant hypothesis, 3,4 but the need for further evidence persists, particularly for migrants in lowincome and middle-income countries. 10…”

Section: Forgotten Needs Of Children Left Behind By Migrationmentioning

confidence: 99%