Search

Background: Inequalities in immigrants' oral health are often masked in population-level data. Therefore, this paper was planned to assess the prevalence data on oral health diseases, namely dental caries, and periodontitis, among immigrants worldwide. Methods: Following a systematic search in Scopus, Embase, and PubMed for studies published between 2011 and 2023, 1342 records were identified. Following title and abstract screening, 76 studies remained for full-text eligibility-screening based on predefined inclusion criteria. Thirty-two studies were included in the review. Results: Dental caries figures were higher in immigrant populations compared to the local population, regardless of host countries, age, gender, or nationality. In children, the overall mean and standard deviation (SD) for decayed, missing, and filled teeth in the primary dentition (d3mft) was 3.63(2.47), and for D3MFT (permanent dentition), it was 1.7(1.2). Upon comparing overall mean caries counts in children and adults with their control groups in the included studies, untreated dental caries (D3T and d3t) constituted the dominant share of caries experience (D3MFT and d3mft) in immigrant children. For the local population, the highest proportion of caries experience was attributed to filled teeth (FT and ft). Dentin caries prevalence among immigrants ranged from 22% to 88.7% in the primary dentition and 5.6% to 90.9% in the permanent dentition. Gingivitis ranged from 5.1% to 100%. Oral health varied greatly between studies. Regarding oral health accessibility, 52% to 88% of immigrant children had never been to a dentist, suggesting a very limited level of accessibility to dental health services. Conclusion: It is imperative to develop interventions and policies that have been customized to address the oral health disparities experienced by immigrant populations. Additionally, host countries should actively implement measures aimed at enhancing the accessibility of oral health care services for these individuals. The utilization of available data is crucial in establishing a hierarchy of objectives aimed at enhancing the oral health of immigrant populations. Trial registration: The Scoping review protocol was registered at OSF Registries with registration number (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/MYXS4). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Malaysia's economic development increases the demand for immigrant workers to ensure health equality. To achieve Universal Health Coverage, issues related to immigrants need to be revisited. Methods A narrative review was conducted on specific scopes of health access barriers among immigrants from Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Results Immigrants face health inequalities due to complex immigration policies, cultural and social adaptation differences, language barriers, financial constraints, and low literacy awareness of healthcare systems. Conclusions This brief essay highlights challenges for immigrants adhering to Malaysia’s Health White Paper strategies in meeting Universal Health Coverage. Expanding these strategies is vital to uphold immigrants’ fundamental rights and ensure health equality among the minority group of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Etnográfica: Revista do Centro de Estudos de Antropologia Social is the property of Centro em Rede de Investigacao em Antropologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Horizons of Politics / Horyzonty Polityki is the property of Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Prenatal vitamin D deficiency is a common health concern among immigrants. No previous studies have examined the associations between prenatal vitamin D levels and developmental disorders of language, scholastic skills, and coordination in an immigrant sample. Methods: The sample included 542 immigrant mothers of cases with language, scholastic, coordination or mixed developmental disorders, 443 immigrant mothers of controls without these disorders and 542 Finnish mothers of controls. Maternal vitamin D was measured in serum samples collected during early pregnancy and stored in a national biobank. Results: The mean vitamin D levels during pregnancy were 25.0 (SD 14.4) nmol/L for immigrant mothers of cases, 25.4 (SD 15.5) for immigrant mothers of controls and 42.3 (SD 19.1) for Finnish mothers of controls. Low maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy were not associated with the selected developmental disorders in offspring when immigrant mothers of cases were compared to immigrant mothers of controls (adjusted OR for continuous log-transformed vitamin D: 1.01, 95% CI 0.75–1.36, p = 0.96). When immigrant mothers of cases were compared to Finnish mothers of controls, the adjusted OR for continuous vitamin D was 18.94 (95% CI 11.47–31.25), p <0.001). The results were similar when vitamin D was examined as a categorical variable or divided into quintiles. Conclusions: Prenatal vitamin D levels were low, and similar, among immigrant mothers of cases with selected developmental disorders and unaffected controls. This indicates that vitamin D unlikely mediates previously observed associations between maternal immigrant status and the selected developmental disorders in offspring. The proportion of immigrant mothers with severe vitamin D deficiency was very high, which underlines the importance of prenatal counselling and overall public health efforts to improve immigrant health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of machine learning (ML) in mental health (MH) research is increasing, especially as new, more complex data types become available to analyze. By examining the published literature, this review aims to explore the current applications of ML in MH research, with a particular focus on its use in studying diverse and vulnerable populations, including immigrants, refugees, migrants, and racial and ethnic minorities. Methods: From October 2022 to March 2024, Google Scholar, EMBASE, and PubMed were queried. ML-related, MH-related, and population-of-focus search terms were strung together with Boolean operators. Backward reference searching was also conducted. Included peer-reviewed studies reported using a method or application of ML in an MH context and focused on the populations of interest. We did not have date cutoffs. Publications were excluded if they were narrative or did not exclusively focus on a minority population from the respective country. Data including study context, the focus of mental healthcare, sample, data type, type of ML algorithm used, and algorithm performance were extracted from each. Results: Ultimately, 13 peer-reviewed publications were included. All the articles were published within the last 6 years, and over half of them studied populations within the US. Most reviewed studies used supervised learning to explain or predict MH outcomes. Some publications used up to 16 models to determine the best predictive power. Almost half of the included publications did not discuss their cross-validation method. Conclusions: The included studies provide proof-of-concept for the potential use of ML algorithms to address MH concerns in these special populations, few as they may be. Our review finds that the clinical application of these models for classifying and predicting MH disorders is still under development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Perinatal psychological distress adversely impacts the well-being and social adjustment of parents and their children. Expectant parents who have migrated may be at higher risk for perinatal psychological distress due to various migration-specific stressors and healthcare service barriers. Limited studies have examined the perceived determinants of perinatal distress in immigrant parents, particularly men. This study explored first and second-generation immigrant parents' lived experiences of social stressors and facilitators of perinatal psychological well-being. Methods: Participants were recruited by convenience and purposive sampling as part of a larger study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted virtually with first and second-generation immigrant women and men in Quebec, Canada. An inductive thematic analysis was performed. Results: Sixteen women (age = 34.8 ± 3.7 years) and ten men (age = 35.1 ± 4.9 years) from various ethnic backgrounds participated in the study at 7.4 ± 0.73 and 7.5 ± 0.72 months postpartum, respectively. Three themes were identified: (1) cultural pressures (cultural differences in parenting, gender-related cultural pressures, health and baby-related practices), (2) health and social service access (social benefits and resources, and systemic barriers in health care), and (3) discrimination (physical appearance or parental-related discrimination, gender-related discrimination, ethnic-related discrimination). First-generation immigrant parents reported greater acculturative stress (i.e. mental health stigma, health care access) and ethnic discrimination concerns related to their distress. Among men, barriers include feeling as though the paternal role was devalued by society and not receiving consideration by health care. Conclusions: Our results highlight different social factors of perinatal well-being perceived by men and women from various ethnic and immigration backgrounds during the perinatal period. Perceived factors include macro-level factors, such as a country's social climate, health and social policies and services, and social aspects of acculturative stress. Our findings suggest the need for continued efforts to challenge and eliminate discriminatory practices. Interventions and resources directed at first-generation immigrant parents should be bolstered. Understanding what parents perceive to facilitate or hinder their psychological well-being can help inform the development of tailored evidence-based programs and policies to better meet the mental health needs of Canadians and reduce gender disparities in the treatment of perinatal distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration policies have a significant impact on population health, particularly for individuals living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These policies not only determine who is allowed to enter a country but also influence which immigrants can access services provided by the government. Some countries continue to impose restrictions on HIV-positive individuals, justifying these measures as necessary to protect public health and mitigate healthcare and economic concerns. However, these restrictions lack a valid public health rationale. Due to social, economic and political constraints, restrictive migration laws hinder access to HIV prevention, care and treatment services for immigrants living with HIV. Immigrants face numerous challenges in accessing medication, adhering to treatment regimens and benefitting from HIV preventive efforts. This situation increases the risk of HIV infection and adverse health outcomes due to limited access to preventive programmes, social stigma and engagement in risky behaviours. Additionally, these restrictive migration rules negatively affect immigrants' mental health. To improve the health of both immigrants and host communities, inclusive and evidence-based migration policies that address healthcare through public health and human rights lenses are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Effective asthma management relies on individuals' knowledge, inhaler technique, and perceptions of asthma and medications. Investigating barriers and enablers to optimal asthma management is vital. This research pursues a comprehensive understanding of asthma control, asthma-related experiences, perceptions, inhaler technique, and knowledge among Arabic-speaking Middle Eastern migrants and refugees living in Australia. Furthermore, it aims to explore the factors influencing optimal asthma management within this demographic. Patients and Methods: This study involved interviews with 17 participants, with nine identified as migrants and eight as refugees. All participants were Arabic-speaking Middle Eastern individuals residing in Australia and diagnosed with asthma. Interviews were thematically analysed, and findings were presented following the guidelines of the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ). Results: The thematic analysis yielded five key themes: (1) asthma experiences; (2) participant perspectives on asthma; (3) asthma management; (4) asthma health literacy; and (5) strategies to overcome obstacles in asthma management. Some disparities were noted between refugees and migrants in terms of their comprehension and views on asthma, medications use, interactions with healthcare providers, and inhaler technique. Refugees experienced more psychological distress and lacked social support, while migrants were more concerned about long-term medication use and preferred specialised care. Conclusion: This research addresses a knowledge gap concerning asthma control among Middle Eastern immigrants. It provides insights into their beliefs and medication adherence. It underscores the importance of considering the unique characteristics of Middle Eastern migrants and refugees when delivering healthcare interventions to enhance overall health and medication adherence within these populations. To address these differences, the study recommends tailored education, specialised clinics, and culturally relevant asthma management plans to enhance self-management support for both groups. Future studies should explore the impact of modifying beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge regarding medications and asthma to enhance asthma management within this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A growing literature has documented the social, economic, and health impacts of exclusionary immigration and immigrant policies in the early 21st century for Latiné communities in the US, pointing to immigration and immigrant policies as forms of structural racism that affect individual, family, and community health and well-being. Furthermore, the past decade has seen an increase in bi-partisan exclusionary immigration and immigrant policies. Immigration enforcement has been a major topic during the 2024 Presidential election cycle, portending an augmentation of exclusionary policies towards immigrants. Within this context, scholars have called for research that highlights the ways in which Latiné communities navigate exclusionary immigration and immigrant policies, and implications for health. This study examines ways in which Mexican-origin women in a midwestern northern border community navigate restrictive immigration and immigrant policies to access health-promoting resources and care for their well-being. Methods: We conducted a grounded theory analysis drawing on interviews with 48 Mexican-origin women in Detroit, Michigan, who identified as being in the first, 1.5, or second immigrant generation. Interviews were conducted in English or Spanish, depending on participants' preferences, and were conducted at community-based organizations or other locations convenient to participants in 2013–2014. Results: Women reported encountering an interconnected web of institutional processes that used racializing markers to infer legal status and eligibility to access health-promoting resources. Our findings highlight women's use of both individual and collective action to navigate exclusionary policies and processes, working to: (1) maintain access to health-promoting resources; (2) limit labeling and stigmatization; and (3) mitigate adverse impacts of immigrant policing on health and well-being. The strategies women engaged were shaped by both the immigration processes and structures they confronted, and the resources to which they had access to within their social network. Conclusions: Our findings suggest a complex interplay of immigration-related policies and processes, social networks, and health-relevant resources. They highlight the importance of inclusive policies to promote health for immigrant communities. These findings illuminate women's agency in the context of structural violence facing immigrant women and are particularly salient in the face of anti-immigrant rhetoric and exclusionary immigration and immigrant policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Women who are migrants experience discrimination and face major risks, including sexual exploitation, trafficking, and violence, which affect their health and well-being. This study explored critical health incidents experienced by immigrant Thai women in marriage migration. Methods: A qualitative explorative approach with in-depth interviews was used. Forty immigrant Thai women who currently or previously had a Swedish spouse were recruited for the study. An inductive critical incident technique was used to collect and analyze the data as the first step. In a second deductive step, the Newman system model was used to categorize health dilemmas. Results: The women reported 438 critical health incidents in five main areas. Psychological health dilemmas included emotional abuse, feeling overwhelmed due to family responsibilities and the stress of leaving family behind. Sociocultural health dilemmas included transnational family duties or not performing family duties. Physiological health dilemmas included experiencing physical violence and environmental, domestic or work accidents. Developmental health dilemmas included failing health, difficulties upholding the duties expected of a spouse in the target culture and caring for an elderly husband. Spiritual health dilemmas included critical incidents in which the women perceived themselves to have failed in their hopes and duties as a wife, which intensified their dependence on faith, particularly the Buddhist concept of karma. Conclusion: Professionals in health and welfare practices in Thailand together with professionals in Western countries who work with women in marriage migration situations need to recognize the psychological, sociocultural, physiological, developmental, and spiritual health dilemmas experienced by these women. Furthermore, civil organizations that meet Thai women in foreign countries, such as Buddhist cultural associations, would benefit from the multicultural knowledge revealed by the present study. This knowledge can facilitate healthcare and welfare support for women in marriage migration situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthy China is a crucial policy for advancing global health, addressing inequality between rural and urban health education, and helping the domestic markets recover after the COVID-19 outbreak. This study combines life cycle mechanisms and safety beliefs to evaluate the long-lasting values of health education. We employed data from the China Migration Dynamic Surveys to examine the economic behaviours of 720,900 immigrants using a robust empirical approach combining an Extended Regression Model (E.R.M.), Average Treatment Effects (A.T.E.), and heterogeneous treatment effects. We find that health education increases participation in social medical insurance and the likelihood of purchasing a house. In contrast, the relationship between health education and saving rates is non-linear effects. Empirically robust heterogeneous treatment effects account for heterogeneity in the previous and the younger generations, as well as urban and rural citizens' long-run effects of health education. This study's findings suggest that health education stimulates immigrants' consumption behaviours; however, extra health education is not desirable. Rural-urban citizenship acquisition bias is found to significantly affect health education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: United States (U.S.) census data from 2017 indicates that the percentage of persons born outside of the U.S. is increasing. However, no studies describe the amount of class time focused on immigrant and refugee health during medical school in the U.S. nor on incoming residents' confidence in providing culturally sensitive care. The objective of this study is to characterize final-year medical students' exposure to immigrant and refugee health and their confidence in caring for these populations. Methods: A voluntary, cross-sectional survey was sent electronically to fourth-year medical students at twelve U.S. medical schools in 2020, with 707 respondents (46% response rate). Questions addressed respondents' curricular exposure to immigrant and refugee health care during medical school and their confidence in providing culturally sensitive care. Chi-square tests were used to assess relationships between categorical variables, and odds ratios were calculated for dichotomized variables. Results: Most students (70.6%) described insufficient class time dedicated to culturally sensitive care, and many (64.5%) reported insufficient clinical exposure in caring for immigrants/refugees. The odds that incoming residents felt 'usually' or 'always' confident in their ability to provide culturally sensitive care to immigrants and refugees were higher in those with more class time on culturally sensitive care (OR 5.2 [3.6-7.4]), those with more clinical opportunities to care for immigrants and refugees (OR 7.2 [5.1-10.2]), and those who participated in a domestic low-resource or international elective (OR 1.4 [1.02-1.9]). More than half (55.3%) of respondents reported feeling 'not at all' or only 'sometimes' confident in their ability to provide culturally sensitive care to immigrants/refugees. Conclusions: Most fourth-year U.S. medical students entering residency feel unprepared to deliver culturally sensitive care to immigrants and refugees. This may be mediated by increased exposure to didactic curricula class time and/or experiential clinical activities, as those factors are associated with improved student confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Refugee and immigrant populations have diverse cultural factors that affect their access to health care and must be considered when building a new clinical space. Health design thinking can help a clinical team evaluate and consolidate these factors while maintaining close contact with architects, patients' community leaders, and hospital or institutional leadership. A diverse group of clinicians, medical students, community leaders and architects planned a clinic devoted to refugee and immigrant health, a first-of-its-kind for South Philadelphia. Methods: The planning process and concept design of this wellness center is presented as a design case study to demonstrate how principles and methods of human-centered design were used to create a community clinic. Design thinking begins with empathizing with the end users' experiences before moving to ideation and prototyping of a solution. These steps were accomplished through focus groups, a design workshop, and iterations of the center's plan. Results: Focus groups were thematically analyzed and generated two themes of access and resources and seven subthemes that informed the design workshop. A final floor plan of the wellness center was selected, incorporating priorities of all stakeholders and addressing issues of disease prevention, social determinants of health, and lifestyle-related illness that were relevant to the patient population. Conclusions: Design thinking methods are useful for health care organizations that must adapt to the needs of diverse stakeholders and especially populations that are underserved or displaced. While much has been written on the theory and stages of design thinking, this study is novel in describing this methodology from the beginning to the end of the process of planning a clinical space with input from the patient population. This study thus serves as a proof of concept of the application of design thinking in planning clinical spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though food insecurity has long been recognised to impact health, population-specific determinants of food insecurity have recently been studied systematically as an important public health concern. Indeed, while immigrant populations face particular challenges to equitable access to the food system, many of these concerns have not been systematically described. To this end, we critically review recent work that demonstrates the importance of transportation and language access as independent determinants of access to food for immigrant populations. Furthermore, we highlight proposals to mitigate barriers to access, including both academic and community-driven approaches to create overlapping institutional commitments for inclusive policymaking that meets the specific needs of diverse populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We examined differences in blood pressure (BP) levels between first-generation immigrants and natives in adult residents in Northeast Italy, and investigated the role of lifestyle behaviors, body mass index (BMI), and education as potentially modifiable mediating factors. Methods: We included 20–69-year-old participants from the Health Surveillance Program of the Veneto Region (n = 37,710). Immigrants born in a high migratory pressure country (HMPC) were further grouped into geographical macro-areas. The outcomes were systolic BP (SBP) and hypertension. Multiple mediation analyses were performed to determine the contribution of each mediator of the SBP/migrant status association. Results: Of the 37,380 subjects included, 8.7% were born in an HMPC. BMI, education, alcohol, sweets and meat consumption were included as potential mediators. A small advantage in SBP was seen for immigrants compared to natives (β = – 0.71,95%CI – 1.30; – 0.10). The direct effect (net of the covariates) of immigrant status on SBP was a reduction of 1.62 mmHg (95%CI – 2.25; – 0.98). BMI played the highest suppressive role (β = 1.14,95%CI 0.99; 1.35), followed by education. Alcohol consumption amplified the health advantage of immigrants. The suppressing effect of BMI was particularly evident among women and North Africans compared to natives. Similar results were seen for hypertension rates. Conclusions: Although causation cannot be proven given the cross-sectional design, our findings identify BMI as the most effective target to preserve the health advantage of immigrants with respect to BP levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review (SLR), based on the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, aims to present a current overview of interventions aimed at promoting the psychosocial well-being and/or empowerment (PWE) of immigrant women in order to guide future projects. Data collection was performed in the SCOPUS and Web of Science databases, with studies published between 2012 and 20 March 2023 in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were based on the PICO guidelines: (P) immigrant women, (I) interventions to improve PWE, (C) comparison between the initial and final phases, and (O) evaluated results for PWE. Risk of bias was assessed, and most of the studies met more than 80% of the JBI bias criteria and had moderate quality on GRADE. Thirteen studies with 585 participants were included, mostly non-randomized, non-equivalent, and with an experimental-control group design. The main components of interventions were health education/psychoeducation, counseling, cognitive restructuring, and expressive therapies. A descriptive synthesis of qualitative and quantitative data was made to evaluate the results of the interventions in PWE. In the experimental studies, results assessed improvements mainly in mood and depression levels, and stress reduction. Empowerment components were less covered. Experimental groups performed better in almost all variables in the comparison with control groups. The strongest interventions were psychoeducation and cognitive restructuring techniques. The main limitations of the studies were the lack of quality of several studies, sample size and representativeness, language, and the possibility of response bias. Even taking this into account, this article makes an original contribution by advocating for evidence-based practice and offering significant implications for health professionals, policy makers, and researchers that work with the integrative health of immigrant women. This SLR is registered in PROPESRO Registration: CRD42023399683. PS is a research fellow of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) of Portugal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural competency proposals have been developed as part of an effort to infuse clinical training with a structural focus. Framed in the context of medical education, the discussion on structural competency naturally emphasises the development of such competency in healthcare workers. In this article, we shift the focus to reflect on how the work of migrant community leaders may involve the development of structural competencies and what can be learned from this complementary perspective. We analysed the development of structural competency in an immigrant rights organisation in northern Chile. We conducted focus groups with migrant leaders and volunteers and used the tools proposed by the Structural Competency Working Group to facilitate dialogue. This allowed us to verify the development of structural competency and other collective competencies, including the capacity to create a protected space for circulating experiences and knowledge; coordinate a heterogeneous group of agents; have a socio-legal impact; and maintain autonomy concerning ideological production. This article introduces the concept of collective structural competency and reflects on the importance of expanding beyond the common medical-centred approach when considering structural competency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immigrant families and their children experience isolation after migration to Canada. Inadequate income, unemployment, and underemployment have all been identified as primary challenges to the mental health of immigrant families. This study qualitatively explored the perceptions of six Middle Eastern immigrant caregivers regarding their children's post-migration mental health. The research was situated in the constructivist paradigm, and qualitative descriptive design was used to explore participant experiences. Interviews were conducted in English with three Farsi-speaking and three Arabic-speaking caregivers. Reflexive thematic analysis was performed. Three themes were developed: (a) parents feel their children are isolated and lonely; (b) caregivers' limited access to resources impacts their children's mental health; and (c) community connections enhance families' mental health. Findings suggest children's experiences with family separation and exposure to racism contributed to children's loneliness. Children's isolation was exacerbated by caregivers' limited access to resources to support their children's transition into Canada. Caregivers identified social support as an asset to their families' mental health. This research highlights the importance of culturally responsive health, employment, and education policies, together with programs to provide resources for immigrant families to support their children's mental health after migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study is to address the health beliefs and health behavior of Chinese immigrants residing in the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia (BC) Province in Canada. This article discussed Chinese immigrants' traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) use, health beliefs, and health behaviors. Methods: Information used in this study is based on data collected in the Chinese-speaking community in the Greater Vancouver area of BC in 2020–2022. Quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to this study. The first stage recruited 314 participants for the quantitative study to cross-validate an instrument tool, followed by the 2nd stage of 20 stratified random sampling out of the 314 participants for TCM-related in-depth qualitative interviews. This study focuses on the second stage of TCM qualitative interviews. Results: Results indicated that TCM health beliefs have cultural and spiritual meanings tied to the Chinese-speaking participants. There are barriers for the Chinese-speaking population to access the existing healthcare services due to their TCM health beliefs and other health needs, for example, family doctors, integrated medicine for better health outcomes, and mental health services especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Conclusion: Integrating TCM health beliefs and behaviors of Chinese-speaking immigrants into existing Canadian mainstream health services are strongly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Worldwide, more immigrants experience vitamin D (vitD) deficiency than non-immigrants, which is attributed to ethnic variations, place or region of birth, skin pigmentation, clothing style, and resettlement-related changes in diet, physical activity, and sun exposure. Current recommendations in clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) concerning vitD are inadequate to address vitD deficiency among immigrants. CPGs may also lack guidance for physicians on vitD supplementation for immigrants. Moreover, there are concerns about the overall quality of these CPGs. Objectives: This systematic review will collate and critically appraise CPGs relevant to immigrants' health and vitD. Moreover, we will evaluate whether the CPGs of vitD including recommendations for immigrants and clarify whether the CPGs of immigrants include recommendations on vitD. Methods: A systematic search of Ovid MEDLINE® ALL, EMBASE, and Turning Research Into Practice (TRIP) electronic databases, guideline repositories, and gray literature will be conducted to identify relevant CPGs. Two reviewers will independently evaluate the methodological quality of the retrieved guidelines using the Appraisal of Guidelines, Research, and Evaluation-II (AGREE-II) instrument. CPGs scoring ≥60% in at least four domains, including "rigor of development," will be considered high quality. Conclusion: Evaluating the quality and content of relevant CPGs may support researchers in developing national and global guidelines for immigrants. Furthermore, it may support vitD testing, nutritional counseling, and supplementation for vulnerable immigrant sub-populations. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42021240562. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND On arrival, immigrants are on average healthier than Italian natives, but their health advantage tends to dissipate over time. This constitutes a relevant public health issue for the hosting societies, as it implies higher health care costs, lower labor market participation among immigrants, and lower tax revenues. OBJECTIVE This study is the first to take a "beyond the mean" perspective in analyzing health differences between Italians and short-say immigrants, as well as between short- and long-stay immigrants. It highlights whether health differences are concentrated in specific parts of the distributions and which observed or unobserved factors contribute to these differences. METHODS We use unconditional quantile regressions combined with Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions on data from the Italian Health Condition Survey. RESULTS We find that the health advantage of short-stay immigrants over both Italians and longstay immigrants is concentrated in the lower part of the health distributions. In both cases, this is mainly due to unobserved factors. Observed economic characteristics are actually associated with better health for long-stay immigrants compared to short-stay immigrants. Our results reveal the need of monitoring immigrants' health, particularly of those with poorer initial health conditions. CONTRIBUTION We examine immigrant health disparities across the entire health distribution. This helps in shaping effective health policies. Policy interventions should be tailored to immigrants with poor health conditions, for example, by improving their access to the health care system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epidemiologic research among migrant populations is limited by logistical, methodological, and ethical challenges, but it is necessary for informing public health and humanitarian programming. Objective: We describe a methodology to estimate HIV prevalence among Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. Methods: Respondent-driven sampling, a nonprobability sampling method, was selected for attributes of reaching highly networked populations without sampling frames and analytic methods that permit estimation of population parameters. Respondent-driven sampling was modified to permit electronic referral of peers via SMS text messaging and WhatsApp. Participants complete sociobehavioral surveys and rapid HIV and syphilis screening tests with confirmatory testing. HIV treatment is not available for migrants who have entered Colombia through irregular pathways; thus, medicolegal services integrated into posttest counseling provide staff lawyers and legal assistance to participants diagnosed with HIV or syphilis for sustained access to treatment through the national health system. Case finding is integrated into respondent-driven sampling to allow partner referral. This study is implemented by a local community-based organization providing HIV support services and related legal services for Venezuelans in Colombia. Results: Data collection was launched in 4 cities in July and August 2021. As of November 2021, 3105 of the target 6100 participants were enrolled, with enrollment expected to end by February/March 2022. Conclusions: Tailored methods that combine community-led efforts with innovations in sampling and linkage to care can aid in advancing health research for migrant and displaced populations. Worldwide trends in displacement and migration underscore the value of improved methods for translation to humanitarian and public health programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The number of people in need of care in Germany has been rising since decades, which is related to an increasing need and relevance of informal caregiving. Likewise, the number of people with a migration background has been increasing. This study aims to analyse the impact of informal caregiving on physical health in comparative perspective for Ethnic German Immigrants (EGI) - the largest and oldest immigrant group in Germany - and non-migrant Germans (NMG).Methods: The sample was drawn from the years 2000-2018 of the German Socio-Economic Panel (n = 26,354). NMG (n = 24,634) and EGI (n = 1,720) were categorized into non-caregivers (n = 24,379) and caregivers (n = 1,975), where the latter were distinguished by 1) their caregiving status and history (current, former, and never caregiver) and 2) the number of years in the caregiver role. Generalized Estimating Equations were applied to examine main effects and the interaction effects of caregiving status and migration background for changes in physical health (n = 102,066 observations).Results: Adjusting for socioeconomic, household related, and individual characteristics, NMG and EGI had similar caregiving patterns and physical health. However, the interaction between migration background and caregiving revealed significantly higher declines in physical health for currently caregiving EGI. Sensitivity analyses indicated that particularly socioeconomic resources moderated this effect.Conclusions: Findings suggest that caregiving is associated with declines in physical health, particularly in the long term and for EGI. This implies that care-related disadvantages accumulate over time and that the association of caregiving, health and associated determinants are culturally diverse and shaped by migration background. Both the health disadvantages of caregivers and EGI might be mitigated by a positive social and socioeconomic setting, which highlights the relevance of supporting structures and benefits for these subgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an analysis of the main discourses that appear in a sample of Spanish newspapers before and after the arrival of the Aquarius at the port of Valencia in June 2018, in order to observe if there is a solidarity discourse or one that rejects the arrival of the rescued immigrants in Spain. The corpus consists of all the news published from June 10 to July 10, 2018 in the electronic version of the Spanish newspapers ABC, El Mundo, El País and La Vanguardia. The methodology is mainly qualitative-descriptive. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) was chosen to observe the main linguistic characteristics of the collected news items and the topics that appear in the articles. The analysis shows that the testimonies of politicians and members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) predominate, but there are few testimonies of immigrants. The solidarity and acceptance of Spain are strengthened, as well as the defense of human rights. This contrasts with the discourses that the press presents after the arrival of the ship in Valencia. A discourse related to the health of immigrants and their need for help and resources predominates, a fact that contributes to the alarm of the majority group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rural migrants usually suffer from major disease risks, but little attention had been paid toward the relationship between self-employment behavior and health status of rural migrants in China. Present study aims to explore the causal effect of self-employment behavior on rural migrants' sub-health status and chronic disease. Two research questions are addressed: does self-employment status affect the sub-health status and chronic disease of rural migrants? What is potential mechanism that links self-employment behavior and health status among rural migrants in China?Methods: The dataset from the 2017 National Migrants Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey (NMPDMS-2017) was used to explore the causal effect. Logit regression was performed for the baseline estimation, and linear probability model with instrument variable estimation (IV-LPM) was applied to correct the endogeneity of self-employment. Additionally, logit regression was conducted to explore the transmission channel.Results: Self-employed migrants were more susceptible to sub-health status and chronic disease, even when correcting for endogeneity. Moreover, self-employed migrants were less likely to enroll in social health insurance than their wage-employed counterparts in urban destinations.Conclusion: Self-employed migrants were more likely to suffer from sub-health status and chronic disease; thus, their self-employment behavior exerted a harmful effect on rural migrants' health. Social health insurance may serve as a transmission channel linking self-employment and rural migrants' health status. That is, self-employed migrants were less prone to participate in an urban health insurance program, a situation which leaded to insufficient health service to maintain health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health inequities arise when the public cannot access and understand health information in an easy, accessible, and understandable way. Evidence supports that health literacy (HL) is a determinant for health outcomes, and when HL is limited this may have a major impact on morbidity as well as mortality. Migrants are known to have limited HL. Therefore, this study aimed to explore comprehensive health literacy (CHL) and electronic health literacy (eHL) among Arabic-speaking migrants in Sweden.Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study conducted in Sweden. A total of 703 persons were invited to participate between February and September 2019. Two questionnaires - the Health Literacy Survey European Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q16) and the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) - and questions about self-perceived health and Internet use were distributed in Swedish and Arabic. Various statistical analyses were performed to determine the associations for limited CHL and eHL.Results: A total of 681 respondents were included in the analysis. Of these, 334 (49%) were native Arabic-speaking migrants and 347 (51%) were native Swedish-speaking residents. CHL and eHL differed between the groups. The Arabic speakers had significantly lower mean sum scores in eHL 28.1 (SD 6.1) vs 29.3 (6.2), p = 0.012 and lower proportion of sufficient CHL 125 (38.9%) vs 239 (71.3%), p < 0.001 compared to Swedish speakers. Multiple regression analysis showed on associations between limited CHL and eHL and being Arabic speaking, less Internet use, and not finding the Internet to be important or useful. Furthermore, longer time spent in Sweden was associated with higher levels of CHL among the Arabic speakers, (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.91-0.98, p < 0.01).Conclusions: CHL and eHL differ between Arabic-speaking migrants and native Swedish speakers, but also between Arabic speakers who have lived different lengths of time in Sweden. Though it seems that the eHealth literacy is less affected by language spoken, the Internet is suggested to be an appropriate channel for disseminating health information to Arabic-speaking migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]