Occupation-related factors affecting the health of migrants working during the COVID-19 pandemic – a qualitative study in Norway

International Journal for Equity in Health

Research

Elena Ronda¹  Pierina Benavente²  Esperanza Diaz² 

[1]Department of Community Nursing, Preventive Medicine and Public Health and History of Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain

[2]CIBER for Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Health Institute Carlos III, Madrid, Spain

[3]Pandemic Centre, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

关键词: Occupational health;    Migrant workers;    Migrant health;    International migrants;    COVID-19;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12939-023-02013-2

 received in 2023-06-28, accepted in 2023-09-14,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were more pronounced among migrants than in the majority population and went beyond those directly caused by the virus. Evidence suggests that this overburden is due to complex interactions between individual and structural factors. Some groups of working migrants were in vulnerable positions, overrepresented in essential jobs, under precarious work conditions, and ineligible for social benefits or special COVID-19 economic assistance. This study aimed to explore the experience of migrants working in Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic to gather an in-depth understanding of the pandemic´s impact on their health and well-being, focusing on occupation-related factors.MethodsIn-depth personal interviews with 20 working migrants from different job sectors in Bergen and Oslo were conducted. Recruitment was performed using a purposive sampling method. Thematic analysis was used.ResultsAt the workplace level, factors such as pressure to be vaccinated, increased in occupational hazards, and increased structural discrimination negatively impacted migrants’ health. Other factors at the host country context, such as changes in social networks in and out of the workplace and changes in the labour market, also had a negative effect. However, the good Norwegian welfare system positively impacted migrants’ well-being, as they felt financially protected by the system. Increased structural discrimination was the only factor clearly identified as migrant-specific by the participants, but according to them, other factors, such as changes in social networks in and out of the workplace and social benefits in Norway, seemed to have a differential impact on migrants.ConclusionsOccupational-related factors affected the health and well-being of working migrants during the pandemic. The pressure to get vaccinated and increased structural discrimination in the workplace need to be addressed by Norwegian authorities as it could have legal implications. Further research using intersectional approaches will help identify which factors, besides discrimination, had a differential impact on migrants. This knowledge is crucial to designing policies towards zero discrimination at workplaces and opening dialogue arenas for acknowledging diversity at work.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 5