Factors linked to accessing COVID‐19 recommendations among working migrants

Abstract

Objectives: Guided by the Health Belief Model (HBM), this study explored factors associated with accessing COVID-19 health information. Design/sample: A cross-sectional study design was used. Sample: Migrants (n = 259) employed in Israel prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic were recruited. Measurements: The on-line questionnaire included: The Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Brief Resilience Coping Scale and Immigrants' Language Ability scale. Results: Migrants obtaining COVID-19 information when issued were more likely to have decreased employment or unemployment after COVID-19 government restrictions (OR = 1.98; CI = 1.03, 3.89; p < .05) and more likely to have a better language ability (OR = 1.20; CI = 1.10, 1.32, p < .0001), but they were less likely to use family and/or friends as their COVID-19 health resource (OR = 0.54, CI = 0.30, 0.96; p < .05). Migrants encountering the most employment difficulties were: female (p < .05), older age (p < .05), unmarried (p < .01), with unstable finances (p < .0001), and in Israel less than 5 years (p < .01).Conclusions: Migrants with more precarious employment had more societal disadvantage (i.e., women, older age, unmarried, poorer socioeconomic status, and newer migrants) and relied on informal and potentially inaccurate, health sources. Public health officials aiming to decrease COVID-19 infection must improve health information access to all members of society, particularly at-risk groups such as migrants.

Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccine Intention: Evidence from Chile, Mexico, and Colombia

“…In this regard, both social status and educational level were negatively related to beliefs about the negative consequences of the COVID-19 vaccine and adherence to conspiracy theories. This finding is consistent with evidence showing that those with higher economic resources and educational levels, because they have greater access to reliable information, adhere less to conspiratorial and negative beliefs about the vaccine [ 68 ]. Moreover, political orientation and age did not show significant associations with negative beliefs towards the COVID-19 vaccine but with conspiracy theories.…”

Antecedents and Consequences of Health Literacy among Refugees and Migrants during the First Two Years of COVID-19: A Scoping Review

“…Some sources identified a lack of readily available and translated COVID-19 public health information, creating barriers for refugees and migrants to understand and comply with public health guidelines [40,[46][47][48]. Comparatively, health information available in a language that was understood by refugees and migrants resulted in a greater likelihood of accessing timely COVID-19 information [49][50][51].…”

“…Literacy (n = 11) and socioeconomic status (n = 8) were the most frequently reported aspects of personal determinants. Literacy, in terms of the ability to read and understand information, was reported to be a crucial factor in accessing and understanding health information [40,41,50,56,58,65]. The importance of digital literacy as a means of accessing technological health information was also acknowledged [57].…”

“…The importance of digital literacy as a means of accessing technological health information was also acknowledged [57]. Refugees and migrants with poor literacy relied on family and friends to provide COVID-19 health information, which was less timely or inaccurate [50]. Lower levels of literacy among refugees and migrants resulted in misconceptions about COVID-19 [36] and poor patient outcomes for those living with chronic illness [23].…”

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on socially marginalised women: Material and mental health outcomes

“…Migration status is also revealed as a contributing factor to these outcomes if socioeconomic status is viewed in this manner. A study in Israel noted the difficulties that migrants faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which included precarious employment related to being female, being older in age, having a lower socioeconomic status, and having resided in the country for less than five years [ 29 ]. In a similar vein [ 16 ], noted how the intersections between exploitative working environments, gender, class, and migration status impacted susceptibility to contracting COVID-19, and [ 14 ] linked symptoms of depression to recent unemployment and food insecurity, with higher frequencies being found in asylum-seekers or migrants with a residence permit when compared to French respondents.…”