Undocumented migrants lack access to pregnancy care and prevention

Abstract

Background: Illegal migration is an increasing problem worldwide and the so-called undocumented migrants encounter major problems in access to prevention and health care. The objective of the study was to compare the use of preventive measures and pregnancy care of undocumented pregnant migrants with those of women from the general population of Geneva, Switzerland.

Nicaraguan Migration and the Prevalence of Adolescent Childbearing in Costa Rica

“…They were also more exposed to violence during pregnancy and 18% had not had a pap smear test during the last three years or never (compared to 2% of controls). (Wolf et al, 2008) The undocumented migrant women of the study also had an 11-fold increased risk for delayed antenatal care (Wolf et al, 2008). The lower attendance to prenatal controls among migrants has been observed in other studies as well.…”

“…Even if migrant women do have access to reproductive health services, many barriers can prevent women from being able to take full advantage of them. Such barriers include poor language skills, lack of interpreters and trans-cultural skills among the staff, differential health-seeking behaviors among migrants and the fear of deportation owing to denunciations made by the health service staff (Carballo, 2007, Stronks et al, 2001, UNFPA, 2006, Wolf et al, 2008. Many migrants are simply not aware of the existence of such services, if in their home country they were not available or they were inaccessible to them (Carballo, 2007).…”

The lower quality of preventive care among forced migrants in a country with universal healthcare coverage

“…A previous study made in the canton (state) of Geneva (Switzerland), pointed out shortfalls in terms of pre-natal preventive care for undocumented migrant women when compared to legally settled migrants. 6 In Switzerland, all inhabitants have healthcare coverage, even those in special circumstances such as asylum seekers through a restricted gate-keeping access to healthcare. 13 There are multiple potential hypotheses explaining why forced migrants receive lower preventive care scores than Swiss citizens.…”

“…21 A Swiss survey of the migrant population health in 2007 showed variations of self-reported health between different subgroups, particularly according to the country of origin, the legal status or the socio-economic level. 13,22 Finally, undocumented immigrants may forgo healthcare for economical reasons or fear of notification of their stay to the police, 6 even though there is possibility to subscribe a health insurance without being reported to the immigration administration. Even if health access is slightly restricted for forced migrants, in particular for undocumented migrants, clinical recommendations are similar to those for the general population Our study has several limitations.…”

“…5 Moreover, a previous study in the canton (state) of Geneva, Switzerland, pointed out shortfalls in terms of pre-natal preventive care for undocumented migrant women when compared to legally settled migrants. 6 . Among this random sample of 1002 patients followed in Swiss University primary care settings, we aimed to determine which subgroups of the population received less preventive care and chronic care of cardiovascular risk factors (RFs), and to explore the determinants of gaps in preventive care.…”