Health and well-being issues of Nepalese migrant workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Malaysia: a systematic review

Paudyal, Priyamvada; Kulasabanathan, Kavian; Cassell, Jackie A; Memon, Anjum; Simkhada, Padam; Wasti, Sharada Prasad

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038439

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Thisstudy had excluded internal migration and the difference in the results between earlier studies may be due to the distance and duration of migration and frequency of visits to the family. Most of the migrants from Nepal went to Gulf countries, Malaysia and other countries for employment purposes 16 which countries are quite far from home and migrants did not visit their families for a long period of time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Male International Migration on Mental Health of Wives Left Behind in Nepal

Bhirtyal

Wasti

2021

J. Manmohan Memorial Inst. Health. Sci.

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Introduction: International male migration is very common and has been increasing significantly in recent days in Nepal.The increasing pattern of male migration has greatly impacted left-behind women. The aim of the study was to assess the effects of male international migration on the mental health (depression) of wives left behind in Nepal. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 800 women (400 wives left behind and 400 wives of non-migrants) in the Chitwan district of Nepal.A systematic random sampling approach was employed for the recruitment of study respondents.Data were collected through a structured questionnaire with face-to-face interviews.Depression was measured by using a valid tool of depression screening questionnaire consisting of a 20-items scale. Data were managed in SPSS version 19 and analysed with a descriptive statistic followed bylogistic regression analysis. Ethical approval was obtained from the Nepal Health Research Council and individual written consent was obtained prior to the interview. Findings: The prevalence of depression in left-behind wives was 79 percent whereas only a 26.3 percent prevalence rate was found in the wives of non-migrants. There was a significant difference in depression between left-behind wives and the wives of non-migrants. The left-behind wives (OR = 10.57, p < 0.001) had around 11 times greater odds of having depressive symptoms compared to the wives of non-migrants. Logistic regression shows that theCaste/ethnicity (OR 1.15), level of education (OR 2.4), own named property (OR 1.7), and having children (OR 8.39) were identified as factors influencing depression in left-behind wives. However, the age of the wives (OR 0.46), level of education (OR 1.77), and employment status (OR 1.7) were found as factors that influence the depression in the wives of non-migrants. Findings between the left-behind wives and the wives of non-migrants depict that only women’s education (OR 2.94 vs 1.77) was found to be significantly associated with depression in both groups. Conclusions: The increasing trend of male international migration has negative effects on left-behind wives regarding health and wellbeing. There should have targeted intervention mental health screening and counselling programs forboth non-migrant and left-behind wives for early detection and treatment. Government should plan psychosocial counselling clinics and awareness-raising programmes particularlyto the higher male migration communities for early detection and treatment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Male International Migration on Mental Health of Wives Left Behind in Nepal

Bhirtyal

Wasti

2021

J. Manmohan Memorial Inst. Health. Sci.

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“…Despite overstocking, underutilizing and decayed woods in the forests, and experiencing a shortage of daily need products for a large number of farmers, no one has dared to ask for a change in forest management for producing non-timber products and services [77]. Youths have rather left families in communities and migrated to cities or the Middle East and are working at jobs with low pay or that are life-threatening and possess social stigma [120]. This resulted in farm labor shortage and abandonment of arable lands, which in turn exacerbated the loss of indigenous resources, social-ecological systems, and institutions [121].…”

Section: Forest Policy Implementation Working Process Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Policy and Development Agencies Led to the Degradation of Indigenous Resources, Institutions, and Social-Ecological Systems in Nepal: Some Insights and Opinions

Dhakal

Chand²,

Shrestha³

et al. 2022

Conservation

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Rapid growth of environmental problems, economic volatilities, and social changes have increased the scopes of adopting environmentally friendly and resilient production systems. Regenerative farming and forestry practices are such systems appropriate for mountain communities in Nepal. They had performed better with indigenous resources, institutions, and social-ecological systems. Unfortunately, the assets have been degraded to extinction, mainly commencing works of national and international development agencies. Consequently, regenerative practices are disappearing. Despite appeals and commitments, the degradations of the assets are not halted and reversed. This study used secondary sources of data and work experiences and explained the working faults of the external agencies involved in the agriculture, forest, and wildlife sectors. It elucidated that most regenerative practices had sustained well in forest and farm resource-integrated production systems and a modest degree of natural and human inputs and production environments. The production environments degraded when the government agencies provided foreign agencies opportunities to be involved actively in policy formulation and implementation of agriculture and forestry-related sectors. The foreign agencies meddled in the national policies and community practices and modified the production environments for their interests and benefits. They intervened in policies and local communities to practice a farming system based on extremely human-made and imported inputs and institutions and to manage forest-related resources in extremely intact natural systems. In the policy discourses and decisions, the farming inputs, practices, and institutions popularly practiced in developed countries are considered superior whereas the indigenous ones are considered inferior. Agricultural plans and policies have overvalued yield, profit, or other direct returns and undervalued environmental friendliness, indirect economic benefits, and social advantages to prioritize support of the government and other agencies. The introduced farming inputs and institutions displaced or hampered the indigenous ones. The foreign agencies also meddled in forest policies and practices of the country to address environmental and economic problems of developed countries which resulted in adverse impacts on the indigenous assets. They intervened in the resource management policies with financial and technical inputs to destroy some of the assets and make the forest-related resource management that results in better benefits (offsetting GHG emission, enhancing tranquility and serenity of recreational sites, and potentially expanding agricultural markets) to the people of developed countries. This study has explained how the officials and experts of both government and foreign agencies abused and misused some strategic tactics and overused, poorly used and disused, others in their work process to address their self-centered interests and problems. In essence, intentional destructive interventions of the policy and development agencies have resulted in degradation to the extinction of the indigenous assets in the communities.

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“…There is no reporting system to understand the health issues of returnee migrants in Nepal nor do hospitals keep a record of their patients by migrant status. Though many studies among Nepali migrants report wide-ranging health and wellbeing issues, 15,16 none of them reported the kidney health-related problems while abroad or after their return.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Risk of kidney health among returnee Nepali migrant workers: A survey of nephrologists

et al. 2021

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Background: Anecdotal reports suggest an increasing prevalence of kidney problems in returnee Nepali migrant workers from the Gulf countries and Malaysia. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to (a) explore the magnitude of the kidney health-related problems in returnee Nepali migrant workers; and, (b) assess the need for further scientific investigations. Materials and Methods: This was a self-administered survey of practicing nephrologists in Nepal. All 51 nephrologists working in Nepal (at the time of this study) were approached by email for anonymous participation using an online survey platform. Data were collected between December 2019 and February 2020. Descriptive statistics were generated for data analysis. Results: A total of 38 nephrologists completed the survey. Almost all their migrant patients were: younger than 40 years, males, from rural areas of Nepal, and had worked in Gulf countries or Malaysia. Most (92.1%) of the respondents reported that the causes behind kidney-related problems of returnee migrant workers were of unknown etiology and less likely to be linked to traditional risk factors. Chronic kidney disease and glomerulonephritis were the most common kidney health-related problems. The vast majority of respondents (76.3%) thought that the returnee migrant workers are at a higher risk of kidney-related problems than the general Nepali population. Conclusion: Nepali labor migrants in the countries of the Gulf and Malaysia could be at a higher risk of kidney health-related problems than the general Nepali population. Further rigorous scientific investigation is warranted to examine the kidney-health-related risk of Nepali migrant workers.

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Health and well-being issues of Nepalese migrant workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Malaysia: a systematic review

Cited by 18 publications

References 57 publications

Effects of Male International Migration on Mental Health of Wives Left Behind in Nepal

Effects of Male International Migration on Mental Health of Wives Left Behind in Nepal

How Policy and Development Agencies Led to the Degradation of Indigenous Resources, Institutions, and Social-Ecological Systems in Nepal: Some Insights and Opinions

Risk of kidney health among returnee Nepali migrant workers: A survey of nephrologists

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