The Dynamics of Health and Return Migration

Davies, Anita; Borland, Rosilyne; Blake, Carolyn; West, Haley

doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001046

Cited by 63 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Return migrants’ health is an under-researched issue, determined by a ‘cumulative exposure’ to risks and behaviour during the entire migration process; that is, by conditions and events before, during and after the actual migration [98]. The findings in this study confirm this, in that the circumstances surrounding migration events seemed highly influential in how the return was experienced by the migrant, and in the consequences on health.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 74%

‘“For a better life …“ A study on migration and health in Nicaragua’

Gustafsson

2018

Global Health Action

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Background: Nicaraguans have migrated internally and internationally for centuries due to economic, political and sociocultural factors. Deficiencies in the country’s health care system have produced inequities in people’s access to health care and medicines. Remittances have become an important source of income, partly invested in health.Objectives: The overall aim of the study was to analyse migration–health relations in contemporary Nicaragua within a broader context of socio-economic transformations.Methods: The study uses a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative interview data and quantitative survey data.Results: The findings show that migration is commonly practised as a strategy for making a living and is related to the struggle for a better life. Health concerns are indirectly embedded in people’s mobile livelihoods, but also directly influence migration motives. Furthermore, migration involves both advantages and disadvantages for health. Physical and sexual violence can come to an end for migrating women, health care and medicine can become more accessible for internal migrants, and vulnerabilities caused by environmental disasters can be avoided by moving. Moreover, remittances can improve people’s everyday life and health. Yet migration can also be a stressful and health-damaging event. International migrants, particularly the undocumented, can have problems accessing health care, and also experience much danger at border crossings. Transnational families can suffer emotionally as well as physically due to separation. Findings from the survey show that family members of migrants do not rate their physical health as good as often as non-migrating families.Conclusions: The Nicaraguan population is not guaranteed its social rights of citizenship. This results in mobile livelihoods and the need for translocal social support (e.g. remittances). Migration can have both positive and negative effects on health for migrants and their family members; geographical distance and social differences are key to the outcome.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 74%

‘“For a better life …“ A study on migration and health in Nicaragua’

Gustafsson

2018

Global Health Action

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“…Costs associated with unexpected medical procedures disrupt families' socioeconomic strategies by diverting resources away from investments such as children's education or the formation of a businesses (Galárraga et al, 2010; Knaul & Frenk, 2005), important mobility strategies among less educated Mexicans. Moreover, among return migrants, health costs can motivate future migrations, disrupting returnees' settlement plans and potential investments in their origin communities (Davies, Borland, Blake, & West, 2011; Hagan & Wassink, 2016). Formal mediation analysis revealed that more than half of the association between migration experience and access to care was explained by migrants' low levels of health insurance coverage.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uninsured migrants: Health insurance coverage and access to care among Mexican return migrants

Wassink¹

2018

DemRes

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Background Despite an expansive body of research on health and access to medical care among Mexican immigrants in the United States, research on return migrants focuses primarily on their labor market mobility and contributions to local development. Objective Motivated by recent scholarship that documents poor mental and physical health among Mexican return migrants, this study investigates return migrants' health insurance coverage and access to medical care. Methods I use descriptive and multivariate techniques to analyze data from the 2009 and 2014 rounds of Mexico's National Survey of Demographic Dynamics (ENADID, combined n=632,678). Results Analyses reveal a large and persistent gap between recent return migrants and non-migrants, despite rising overall health coverage in Mexico. Multivariate analyses suggest that unemployment among recent arrivals contributes to their lack of insurance. Relative to non-migrants, recently returned migrants rely disproportionately on private clinics, pharmacies, self-medication, or have no regular source of care. Mediation analysis suggests that returnees' high rate of uninsurance contributes to their inadequate access to care. Conclusion This study reveals limited access to medical care among the growing population of Mexican return migrants, highlighting the need for targeted policies to facilitate successful reintegration and ensure access to vital resources such as health care.

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“…Other authors have pointed out the necessity of public health policies addressed to return migrants [28]. In the case of forced returnees, this necessity is even more pressing, as they are less likely to have prepared their return in advance [11,12].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Common Mental Disorders at the Time of Deportation: A Survey at the Mexico–United States Border

Bojórquez

Aguilera

Ramírez

et al. 2014

J Immigrant Minority Health

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Deportations from the Unites States (US) to Mexico increased substantially during the last decade. Considering deportation as a stressful event with potential consequences on mental health, we aimed to (1) estimate the prevalence of common mental disorders (CMD) among deported migrants; and (2) explore the association between migratory experience, social support and psychological variables, and CMD in this group. In repatriation points along the border, a probability sample of deportees responded to the Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ). The prevalence of CMD was 16.0% (95% CI 12.3, 20.6). There was a U-shaped association between time in the US and SRQ score. Times returned to Mexico, having a spouse in the US, number of persons in household, less social support, anxiety as a personality trait, and avoidant coping style were directly associated with SRQ score. Public health policies should address the need for mental health care among deported migrants.

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The Dynamics of Health and Return Migration

Abstract: In the final article in a six-part PLoS Medicine; series on Migration & Health, Anita Davies and colleagues from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) discuss the specific health risks and policy needs associated with return migration

Cited by 63 publications

References 10 publications

‘“For a better life …“ A study on migration and health in Nicaragua’

‘“For a better life …“ A study on migration and health in Nicaragua’

Uninsured migrants: Health insurance coverage and access to care among Mexican return migrants

Common Mental Disorders at the Time of Deportation: A Survey at the Mexico–United States Border

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