The Migrant Paradox in Children and the Role of Schools in Reducing Health Disparities: A Cross-Sectional Study of Migrant and Native Children in Beijing, China

Abstract

Migrants usually exhibit similar or better health outcomes than native-born populations despite facing socioeconomic disadvantages and barriers to healthcare use; this is known as the “migrant paradox.” The migrant paradox among children is highly complex. This study explores whether the migrant paradox exists in the health of internal migrant children in China and the role of schools in reducing children’s health disparities, using a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method. Participants were 1,641 student and parent pairs from Grades 4, 5, and 6 of eight primary schools in Beijing. The following school types were included: state schools with migrant children comprising over 70% of total children (SMS), private schools with migrant children comprising over 70% (PMS), and state schools with permanent resident children comprising over 70% (SRS). Children were divided into Groups A, B, C or D by the type of school they attended (A and B were drawn from SRSs, C was from SMSs, and D was from PMSs) and whether they were in the migrant population (B, C, and D were, but A was not). Related information was collected through medical examination and questionnaires completed by parents and children. Prevalence of caries, overweight and obesity, poor vision, and self-reported incidence of colds and diarrhea in the previous month were explored as health outcomes. The results partially demonstrated the existence of the migrant paradox and verified the role of schools in lowering health disparities among children; there are theoretical and practical implications for improving the health of migrant children.

Birth and Health Outcomes of Children Migrating With Parents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…We defined international migrant children as those with at least one foreign-born parent, irrespective of the child's birth place, including first-generation and second-generation immigrants ( 13 ). Internal migrant children refer to children who have lived in the host city for more than 6 months while holding a non-local household residency, such as rural-to-urban migration ( 14 ). The comparator group consisted of native-born children (e.g., children and both parents without migration background) ( 15 ).…”

Probing the Psychosocial Correlates of Unintentional Injuries Among Grade-School Children: A Comparison of Urban and Migrant Students in China

“…The past four decades have witnessed a dramatic economic boom along with a great internal migration for jobs from rural inland to coastal urban regions in China. The "migrant population" mentioned here is defined as individuals leaving their residences for cities for more than six months without changing their household registration (hukou) (Ji et al 2016). Unlike the transnational immigrants discussed in numerous western studies, usually the Chinese rural to urban migrant workers do not face challenging acculturation (Schwartz et al 2010), because cities in China provide a relatively homogeneous environment with no race barriers, and almost no religious barriers to their cultural adjusting (Yue et al 2013).…”

Comportamiento alimentario en inmigrantes, aportes desde la evidencia

“…Todo lo mencionado anteriormente se asocia al desarrollo de enfermedades crónicas como ECV, DM II, HTA entre otras 49 . En este contexto Chile no cuenta con referencias propias que permitan abordar los problemas alimentarios y patologías asociadas a estos, por lo que el estudio del CA alimentario en población migrante vinculado al desarrollo de intervenciones educativas culturalmente aceptables en escuelas puede ser una importante estrategia preventiva 60,66,67 .…”

“…Se ha reportado una prevalencia de sobrepeso significativamente mayor en escolares migrantes (12,7%) que los no migrantes (6,9%) con una fuerte asociación a variables socioeconómicas y de desarrollo infantil con el estado nutricional 59 . En este sentido la escuela cumple un rol mediador esencial en la disminución de disparidad en salud entre niños migrantes y no migrantes 60 . Sobre todo teniendo en consideración que si bien algunos padres reconocen cierta preocupación sobre la obesidad infantil y adulta en general, las preocupaciones sobre obesidad no son una prioridad 61 .…”