Journal of Migration and Health最新文献

{"title":"A controlled weight loss intervention study among women of Somali background in Norway","authors":"Linn Bohler ,&nbsp;Haakon E. Meyer ,&nbsp;Hein Stigum ,&nbsp;Maria J. Leirbakk ,&nbsp;Danielle Cabral ,&nbsp;Mia Charlott Wedegren ,&nbsp;Eivind Andersen ,&nbsp;Mark L. Wieland ,&nbsp;Ahmed A. Madar","doi":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100231","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100231","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Women of Somali background in Norway have a high prevalence of overweight and obesity, compared with women in the general Norwegian population. For lifestyle interventions to be applicable for immigrants to Norway, it is important to culturally tailor interventions in collaboration with relevant communities. The primary outcome was a difference in weight change between the intervention and control groups.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>In this interventional study, Somali women living in one borough of Oslo Municipality in Norway with body mass index (BMI) ≥27.0 kg^.<em>m</em>^-² received a co-created, culturally tailored 12-month weight loss intervention consisting of 24 interactive sessions during the first three months, and monthly sessions for the next nine months, compared to a control group. Both groups were measured at baseline and 12 months.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>A total of 169 participants were recruited, and 101 participants completed the follow-up. After multiple imputation, the mean difference in weight change adjusted for baseline weight, age, education, employment, marital status, number of children in the household and length of Norwegian residency was -1.6 kg (95 % CI -3.57, 0.43, <em>p</em> = 0.12) in the intervention compared to the control group.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>This culturally tailored intervention study demonstrated a modest non-significant effect on weight change after 12 months, possibly due to the short intervention duration and COVID-19. Further studies of a longer duration and considering the provision of childcare are needed to understand whether this approach can be transferred to other immigrant groups and genders.</p><p>Trial registration: The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov NCT04578067, 2020-09-29.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34448,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Migration and Health","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100231"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666623524000217/pdfft?md5=26aa7b358afa4a5ec30d72714a6556e8&pid=1-s2.0-S2666623524000217-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140895011","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Between the lines: A mixed-methods study on the impacts of parental deportation on the health and well-being of U.S. citizen children","authors":"Ana Martinez-Donate ,&nbsp;M. Gudelia Rangel ,&nbsp;Jamile Tellez Lieberman ,&nbsp;J. Eduardo Gonzalez-Fagoaga ,&nbsp;Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes ,&nbsp;Elizabeth McGhee Hassrick ,&nbsp;Carmen Valdez ,&nbsp;Kevin Wagner ,&nbsp;Yosselin Turcios ,&nbsp;Ahmed Asadi Gonzalez ,&nbsp;Xiao Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100233","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100233","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p>To explore the impacts of parental deportation on the health and well-being of U.S. citizen children of Mexican immigrants.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>From 2019–2020, this ambi-directional cohort study recruited U.S.-based families with an undocumented Mexican immigrant parent and U.S.-citizen childrens (ages 13–17) recently exposed to parental deportation (<em>N</em> = 61), and similar families without a history of parental deportation (<em>N</em> = 51). Children health, behavioral, economic, and academic outcomes were measured via phone surveys upon enrollment and six months later. A subsample of “exposed” caregivers (<em>N</em> = 14) also completed in-depth semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using fixed-effects regression models and thematic analyses.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Childrens exposed to parental deportation had significantly worse health status, behavioral problems, material hardship, and academic outcomes than children in the control arm (<em>p</em>&lt;.05). Caregivers’ interviews illustrated these health, behavioral, academic and family impacts.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Parental deportations have wide and potentially long-lasting health, behavioral, economic, and academic consequences for U.S. citizen youth. Changes in immigration policies and enforcement practices are urgently needed to protect the unity of mixed-legal status families in the U.S. and prevent the suffering of U.S. children in these families.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34448,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Migration and Health","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100233"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666623524000230/pdfft?md5=d73e484b445337590c41c96ce1023a22&pid=1-s2.0-S2666623524000230-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141036472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Engagement in sexual healthcare and STI/HIV burden of first- and second-generation migrant and Western-born female sex workers in the Netherlands: A retrospective cohort study","authors":"C.M.M. Peters ,&nbsp;Y.J. Evers ,&nbsp;C.J.G. Kampman ,&nbsp;M.J. Theunissen–Lamers ,&nbsp;M.A.M. van den Elshout ,&nbsp;N.H.T.M. Dukers-Muijrers ,&nbsp;C.J.P.A. Hoebe","doi":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100281","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100281","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Scarcely available European studies suggest that migrant female sex workers (FSW) have a higher likelihood of sexually transmitted infections (STI) but a lower likelihood of HIV compared to non-migrant FSW. This study assessed demographics, STI/HIV burden, and engagement in sexual healthcare among first-generation (FGM) and second-generation (SGM) migrant FSW versus Western-born FSW.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This large retrospective cohort study included 27,532 Dutch STI clinic consultations from 11,363 individual FSW between 2016 and 2021. STI diagnoses (chlamydia/gonorrhoea/ infectious syphilis/infectious hepatitis B/HIV) in the first consultation were compared using Chi-squared test. Logistic regression adjusting for age, urbanity and sexual behaviour assessed associations between migration status and STI diagnoses. Incidence of repeat consultation was compared between migration groups using Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusting for age and STI clinic urbanity.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>FGM FSW (<em>n</em> = 5085) mostly originated from Eastern Europe (50.5 %) and SGM FSW (<em>n</em> = 1309) from Suriname/Netherlands Antilles (36.3 %). Among FGM, SGM and Western-born FSW, 11.4 %, 15.2 % and 13.3 %, respectively (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) were diagnosed with any STI. FGM FSW had a lower odds (aOR 0.78, 95 %:CI 0.65–0.94,<em>p</em> &lt; 0.01) of chlamydia or gonorrhoea diagnosis, but a higher aOR (6.38,95 %CI:2.63–15.49,<em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) of HIV, syphilis, or hepatitis B diagnosis in the first consultation. FGM FSW had a lower likelihood of a repeat consultation at any time (aHR:0.73,95 %CI:0.69–0.77,<em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) than Western-born FSW.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Migrant FSW versus Western-born FSW demonstrated a varying burden of STI, FGM heightened proportions and odds of infectious syphilis, hepatitis B and HIV and lower likelihood of repeat consultations. Enhancing accessibility and outreach efforts for migrant FSW in sexual healthcare services is imperative.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34448,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Migration and Health","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100281"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142578567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“Sometimes it can be like an icebreaker”: A mixed method evaluation of the implementation of the Refugee Health Screener-13 (RHS-13)","authors":"Ana Hagström ,&nbsp;Henna Hasson ,&nbsp;Anna-Clara Hollander ,&nbsp;Carl Vahtra ,&nbsp;Sara Delilovic ,&nbsp;Hanna Augustsson","doi":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100243","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100243","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Forced migrants are at risk of developing mental illness, yet challenges remain with underutilization of mental healthcare among this population. This study examined the implementation of the Refugee Health Screener-13 (RHS-13) in the health assessment for forced migrants in eight primary health care centres in Stockholm Region, Sweden.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>A mixed-methods convergent parallel design was used, combining nurses self-reported quantitative data on the levels and reasons for RHS-13 use in the health assessment with qualitative interview data on the barriers and facilitators for RHS-13 use. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was used as a coding framework for the qualitative analysis.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Levels of RHS-13 use varied between primary health care centres, resulting in two groups: three centres with high-level (65–92%) and five centres with low-level (0–36%) implementation. Factors related to the tool itself, as well as the inner and outer context, influenced the use of RHS-13. Language barriers, insufficient time, and lack of trust in the validity and utility of RHS-13 were the main barriers, while its availability in many languages and that it was perceived as an important complement to the health assessment were the main facilitators.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>RHS-13 contributes to the standardization of assessing mental health in the health assessment. Identifying context-based implementation strategies and addressing language and time issues as well as nurses trust in the tool's utility are recommended to enhance the use of RHS-13.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34448,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Migration and Health","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100243"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666623524000321/pdfft?md5=0229f441ddf971c562a651826f4dd247&pid=1-s2.0-S2666623524000321-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141695182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Abortion care access and experience among U.S. immigrants: A systematic review","authors":"Lauren J. Shiman ,&nbsp;Sarah Pickering ,&nbsp;Diana Romero ,&nbsp;Heidi E. Jones","doi":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100248","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100248","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><p>United States (US) immigrant populations face unique barriers to accessing health care, including reproductive health care. Abortion access and experiences among immigrant populations in the US are not well understood.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>We conducted a systematic review to synthesize existing literature about US immigrant populations’ access to and use of abortion services. Eight studies met the eligibility criteria, which included being published in English and presenting at least one finding relevant to US immigrant populations’ access to or experience utilizing abortion; key findings were identified using content analysis.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>We present results organized within three main categories: (1) overall rates of abortion among immigrant versus US-born individuals, (2) characteristics of US immigrants who receive abortion services, and (3) barriers to abortion access for US immigrant populations, which included concepts pertaining to discrimination, challenges navigating the healthcare systems, and lack of knowledge about legal rights.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Study findings illustrate three categories of results relevant to immigrant experiences accessing abortion care in the US, including revealing barriers to abortion services rooted in lack of knowledge of US institutional systems and mistreatment in clinical and legal settings due to race or immigration status. Further research is needed to better understand nuances in experiences among immigrant subpopulations, experiences of US immigrants who speak a language other than English or Spanish, and use of self-managed abortions or abortions in informal settings among US immigrants.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34448,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Migration and Health","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100248"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666623524000370/pdfft?md5=e9a020ec03fabcf1366c1641621728bb&pid=1-s2.0-S2666623524000370-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141736648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mental and behavioral health problems among displaced Myanmar adults exhibiting suboptimal adherence to chronic disease medication treatment in Thailand","authors":"Judith K Bass ,&nbsp;Amanda Nguyen ,&nbsp;Kittipong Sornlorm ,&nbsp;Ye Htut Oo ,&nbsp;Jarntrah Sappayabanphot ,&nbsp;Catherine Lee ,&nbsp;Wongsa Laohasiriwong","doi":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100279","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100279","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Background&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;People living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension and diabetes are at high risk for mental health and psychosocial problems. These problems, in turn, can lead to social isolation, lower quality of life, greater health needs, and poorer health outcomes. The prevalence of NCDs is rising in humanitarian settings, where residents are already at an increased risk of mental health problems due to trauma and stressful living conditions. Yet there has been limited focus on understanding experiences and intersections between these often-co-occurring health conditions in humanitarian settings. Improving this understanding holds promise for supporting integrated care and better patient health outcomes.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Objective&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;To describe mental health problems of displaced Myanmar adults with current poor medication adherence for hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes mellitus and identify factors associated with poor mental health among this population.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Methods&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Cross-sectional analysis of 224 adults with poor medication adherence (&lt;70 %) for diabetes and/or hypertension treatment. Medication adherence was assessed using pill count. Demographic and physical health characteristics were collected; mental and behavioral health outcomes included a mental health symptom severity score generated based on symptoms of depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress as well indicators of substance use. Data on sleep quality and self-efficacy for managing chronic disease were also collected. Multiple linear regression was used to identify factors associated with more severe mental health symptoms.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Findings&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Among the 224 participants, 63.84 % were taking medication for hypertension, 17.86 % for diabetes mellitus, and 18.30 % for both. The sample was 70.98 % female and more than a third (37.5 %) were overweight or obese. Among the total sample, 29.91 % and 65.63 % reported ever using tobacco and betel nuts, respectively. In bivariate analyses, reported religious affiliation, financial situation, hypertension and diabetes comorbidity and more sleep problems were all significantly associated with poorer mental health; all of these factors other than religious affiliation remained significant in the multivariate analysis.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Conclusions&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;More than one-third of the displaced Myanmar adults who had suboptimal adherence to their chronic illness medications are living with moderate to severe mental health problems. The factors associated with more severe mental health problems were identified as having debt along with poor financial situation, having comorbid hypertension and diabetes, and having the worse scoring on the sleep problems scale. Integrating mental health support programs into chronic disease care systems is needed to help improve the overall health of this vulnerable population. Holistic approaches to improve economic","PeriodicalId":34448,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Migration and Health","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100279"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142657483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Breastfeeding practices among immigrants living in Finland: Results from the FinChildren survey","authors":"I Muhumed ,&nbsp;J Meinilä ,&nbsp;R Klemetti ,&nbsp;FA Adebayo ,&nbsp;SM Virtanen ,&nbsp;M Erkkola","doi":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100283","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100283","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Breastfeeding is a cornerstone of child health and survival as it provides crucial, non-replaceable nourishment necessary for infant's growth and development. Immigration has been shown to influence breastfeeding particularly among immigrants from low- and middle-income countries. Our aim was to examine breastfeeding practices and sociodemographic characteristics of Somali-, Arabic-, and Russian-speaking in comparison with Finnish-speaking mothers.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We analyzed data from 5348 mothers with infants who participated in FinChildren survey conducted in 2020. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to estimate the association between maternal origin and breastfeeding practices by comparing immigrant mothers with native-born mothers.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Somali-/Arabic-speaking mothers were younger, less educated and had higher BMI than Russian- and native Finnish-speaking mothers. Proportions of exclusive breastfeeding at 4–5 months of age were lowest among Somali-/Arabic-speaking mothers (21 %) compared to native-born (49 %) and to Russian-speaking mothers (52 %). Again, Somali-/Arabic-speaking mothers had the highest proportions of mixed feeding (66 %) compared to native Finnish-speaking (38 %) and Russian-speaking mothers (32 %). Being a Somali-/Arabic-speaking mother decreased the odds of exclusive breastfeeding five times (OR 0.20, 95 % CI 0.10–0.45) and quadrupled (OR 4.0, 95 % CI 2.18–7.37) the odds of mixed feeding at 4–5 months of age.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Even though the number of immigrant mothers was low, this study suggests that maternal origin is a significant predictor of suboptimal breastfeeding independent of sociodemographic and antenatal characteristics. There is a need for culturally sensitive interventions to promote breastfeeding among these groups.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34448,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Migration and Health","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100283"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142657484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Strategies for seeking care in the host country among asylum-seeking women who have been victims of sexual violence: A French qualitative study","authors":"Khouani Jeremy ,&nbsp;Anne Desrues ,&nbsp;Constance Decloitre-Amiard ,&nbsp;Marion Landrin ,&nbsp;Rachel Cohen Boulakia ,&nbsp;Didier Thery ,&nbsp;Gaëtan Gentile ,&nbsp;Pascal Auquier ,&nbsp;Maeva Jego","doi":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100254","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100254","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Incidence of sexual violence among recently arrived asylum-seeking women in France (INCIDAVI) is a French study which found a past year incidence of 26 % for postarrival sexual violence (SV) among asylum-seeking women (ASW). It reported that fewer than 1 out of 10 victims consulted a healthcare professional when SV occurred. These findings raise the question of how ASW who have been victims of SV get involved in care. We aimed to explore the mechanisms and obstacles to seeking care in the host country among this population.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>This qualitative phase of INCIDAVI was based on a grounded theory approach. Twenty semi structured interviews were conducted between February 1, 2022, and July 29, 2022. The interviews explored the conditions under which women talk about SV, the care pathway in France and the perceived consequences of care. We performed an inductive analysis using NVivo® 14 software.</p></div><div><h3>Findings</h3><p>Life paths of ASW are traversed by SV which influence their health and safety behaviour and can re-expose them to SV. Talking about SV is a rare choice focused on seeking protection. When appropriate care is used, it is perceived as beneficial and leads to a change in the perception of a possible recovery.</p></div><div><h3>Interpretation</h3><p>The failure of ASW to seek care for SV is shaped by the fact that SV is initially perceived as ordinary. A proactive attitude on the part of carers towards detecting such violence leads to positive experiences of care, which in turn influence women's initial perceptions of SV, enabling them to envisage health recovery.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34448,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Migration and Health","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100254"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666623524000436/pdfft?md5=2f22992b7b16df2e259f3c6a66707b8d&pid=1-s2.0-S2666623524000436-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141838567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Differences in characteristics and interactions with close contacts among PWID in the San Diego Border Region before and during the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"Lara K Marquez,&nbsp;Natasha K Martin,&nbsp;Steffanie A Strathdee,&nbsp;Britt Skaathun","doi":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100267","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100267","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Travel restrictions implemented to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2 decreased mobility and reduced physical contact during 2020–2021 for many in the general population. This analysis explored changes to network contacts among people who inject drugs (PWID) in the San Diego Border Region (SDBR) by cross-border mobility before and during the COVID-19 era.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Baseline data collected between October 2020–2021, from a cohort study of PWID in the SDBR were used to retrospectively describe differences in baseline characteristics across cross-border PWID groups (cross-border PWID [CB-PWID]: <em>n</em> = 206; San Diego PWID [SD-PWID]: <em>n</em> = 203; Tijuana PWID [TJ-PWID]: <em>n</em> = 202). Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests evaluated sociodemographic, injecting risk behaviors, harm reduction service history, incarceration history, non-fatal overdose, HCV, HIV. Median differences in sex, drug/alcohol, and close partners before and during the pandemic among all PWID and by cross-border PWID status were evaluated using Kruskal-Wallis tests. Pairwise associations across cross-border PWID groups were assessed using the Dwass, Steel, Critchlow-Fligner multiple comparison test.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Among 611 PWID, the number of sex, drug/alcohol-related partners and close contacts before and during the pandemic remained relatively stable (p_sex=0.71;p_drug/alcohol=0.15;p_close=0.09). PWID in San Diego experienced the greatest difference in drug/alcohol-related partners (median[IQR]:-1[-6,0]), while cross-border PWID reported the smallest change in close contacts versus pre-pandemic (median[IQR]:0[0,1]). PWID in Tijuana had the greatest proportion (87%) of close contacts who injected drugs of all three groups.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Compared to pre-pandemic, the median number of sex partners, drug/alcohol-related partners, and close contacts remained stable among PWID in the SDBR. Future research should explore how these network contacts evolve over time.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34448,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Migration and Health","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100267"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142357027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Building a healthy migrant workforce in Singapore – A cross-sectional study to understand health-seeking behaviours of male migrant workers","authors":"Nurul Amanina Binte Hussain ,&nbsp;Sheena Ramazanu ,&nbsp;Priscilla Ang ,&nbsp;Halina Talib ,&nbsp;Si Ying Tan ,&nbsp;Hui Xiang Chia ,&nbsp;Sharon Tan ,&nbsp;Jeremy Fung Yen Lim ,&nbsp;Jason CH Yap","doi":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100266","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmh.2024.100266","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The healthcare policies for migrant workers in Singapore had a traditional focus on improving occupational health and preventing workplace injuries. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a rapid paradigm shift in the provision of healthcare for migrant workers, with an urgent focus on improving the accessibility and affordability of primary and preventive health services and strengthening public health surveillance. The purpose of this study is to identify areas for improvement, so that policy makers can improve the implementation effectiveness of healthcare policies for migrant workers. This is achieved by establishing a baseline understanding of (a) the health-seeking behaviours of migrant workers in Singapore, (b) how they consume primary and preventive health services, and (c) systemic gaps in the delivery of services.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A cross-sectional study was conducted at five migrant worker dormitories and two community spaces in Singapore, between August and November 2022. 1101 male migrant workers participated in a survey and 1089 valid responses were analysed. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify sociodemographic factors associated with health service utilisation and awareness of the new healthcare financing plan introduced for migrant workers, called the Primary Care Plan (PCP).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The mean age of participants was 34 years. Most of them were of Indian or Bangladeshi nationality. At least 82 % of participants reported that they could access varying health services in Singapore and 73 % were satisfied with the costs of healthcare. However, a lower percentage of the participants (54 %) had seen a doctor, mostly for respiratory, fever or musculoskeletal conditions, and only 7 % saw a dentist at least once in a year. This was attributable to their low perceived need to see a doctor (91 %) or dentist (71 %). While the prevalence of chronic diseases (4 %) was low among the participants, about one-third of participants smoked (26 %), consumed alcohol (32 %), or resorted to self-treatment or medication (39 %).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This study corroborated with previous observational studies where migrant workers in Singapore only sought care during an acute episode of illness. While participants perceived healthcare in Singapore to be accessible and affordable, there was limited evidence to suggest that preventive health care was prioritised. This indicates possible gaps in current outreach programmes and further development of new targeted programmes to increase the health literacy and awareness of primary and preventive health services among migrant workers in Singapore.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34448,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Migration and Health","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100266"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142418452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}