Determinants of internal migrant health and the healthy migrant effect in South India: a mixed methods study

BMC International Health and Human Rights

Research Article

Matthew Little¹  Cate Dewey¹  Warren Dodd¹  Sally Humphries²  Kirit Patel³  Shannon Majowicz⁴ 

[1]Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, N1G 2W1, Guelph, ON, Canada

[2]Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph, N1G 2W1, Guelph, ON, Canada

[3]International Development Studies Program, Menno Simons College affiliated with the University of Winnipeg and Canadian Mennonite University, R3C 0G2, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

[4]School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

关键词: India;    Migration;    Migrant health;    Occupational health;    Health status;    Determinants of health;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12914-017-0132-4

 received in 2016-06-29, accepted in 2017-09-04,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundInternal labour migration is an important and necessary livelihood strategy for millions of individuals and households in India. However, the precarious position of migrant workers within Indian society may have consequences for the health of these individuals. Previous research on the connections between health and labour mobility within India have primarily focused on the negative health outcomes associated with this practice. Thus, there is a need to better identify the determinants of internal migrant health and how these determinants shape migrant health outcomes.MethodsAn exploratory mixed methods study was conducted in 26 villages in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu. Sixty-six semi-structured interviews were completed using snowball sampling, followed by 300 household surveys using multi-stage random sampling. For qualitative data, an analysis of themes and content was completed. For quantitative data, information on current participation in internal labour migration, in addition to self-reported morbidity and determinants of internal migrant health, was collected. Morbidity categories were compared between migrant and non-migrant adults (age 14–65 years) using a Fisher’s exact test.ResultsOf the 300 households surveyed, 137 households (45.7%) had at least one current migrant member, with 205 migrant and 1012 non-migrant adults (age 14–65 years) included in this study.The health profile of migrant and non-migrants was similar in this setting, with 53 migrants (25.9%) currently suffering from a health problem compared to 273 non-migrants (27.0%). Migrant households identified both occupational and livelihood factors that contributed to changes in the health of their migrant members. These determinants of internal migrant health were corroborated and further expanded on through the semi-structured interviews.ConclusionsInternal labour migration in and of itself is not a determinant of health, as participation in labour mobility can contribute to an improvement in health, a decline in health, or no change in health among migrant workers. Targeted public health interventions should focus on addressing the determinants of internal migrant health to enhance the contributions these individuals can make to their households and villages of origin.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017