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Over the past two decades, new anti-immigration policies and laws have emerged to address the migration of undocumented immigrants. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to assess and understand how these immigration policies and laws may affect both access to health services and health outcomes among undocumented immigrants. Eight da...
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Organizations, in their strategic plans to gain competitive advantage, must utilize training and develop- ment initiatives that recognize and exploit the current diversity of the entity as well as developing trends that will impact future operations (Wentling & Palma-Rivas, 1997). Unfortunately, in many organizations, these initiatives are frequent...
Citations
... In addition, immigration status has been deemed as one of the strongest predictors of access to care. While first-generation Mexican immigrants are less likely to access and utilize healthcare services than US-born Mexican-Americans, undocumented individuals are 27% less likely to have had a doctor visit in the past year and 35% less likely to have had a regular source of care; [11][12][13][14] with fears of discrimination or legal repercussions being the most commonly cited barriers to care [15]. Moreover, existing evidence suggests that individuals with limited English proficiency are more likely to be uninsured, delay medical care due to cost, not have a primary care provider, and not have had a physical exam in the past year [16][17][18]. ...
... For instance, evident declines in the use of preventative healthcare services among both US-born and foreign-born Mexicans were observed as a result of the enactment of Arizona's SB 1070 Immigration Law, which allows for the detention under "reasonable suspicion" of individuals who are unable to provide proof of citizenship status on request [55]. While the impact of federally enforced immigration policies on Mexican immigrants' access to health services is yet to be fully understood, existing research suggests that the decline in health-seeking services observed among immigrants stems from fear of exposing themselves or family members to legal sanctions or harassment [15]. Though this study points to the importance of predisposing, enabling, and contextual factors as well as personal health practices on Mexican immigrants' frequency of healthcare services use, several limitations should be noted when interpreting the results. ...
Guided by Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services Use (BMHSU), this study aimed to identify determinants of post-migration healthcare use among a sample of Mexican immigrants in a US-Mexico border region in Southern Arizona, while considering pre-migration health and healthcare experiences.
A non-probabilistic convenience sample of 300 adult Mexican immigrants completed a telephone survey to assess healthcare practices. Multivariable logistic regressions were fitted to determine adjusted relationships between frequency of care and predisposing, enabling, need, and contextual factors as well as personal health practices.
Overall, participants had a 79% probability of receiving healthcare “at least once a year” after migrating to Southern Arizona. Receiving post-migration healthcare was associated with predisposing, enabling, need, contextual factors, and personal health practices (p < 0.05).
Consistent with BMHSU, our findings suggest that frequency of healthcare is not only a function of having post-migration health insurance but is also shaped by a complex array of other factors. The results of this study shed light onto potential areas to be leveraged by multifactorial sociocultural interventions to increase Mexican immigrants’ frequency of healthcare services use.
... It is critical to study the impact of policies because individual and family-level stressors that newcomers face are inextricability linked to the socio-structural-political environment [33,34]. Interventions that incorporate the broad and multilevel nature of the experiences that newcomers face before, during, and post-migration and the structural determinants that impact their mental health outcomes are essential [35]. ...
The NIMH-funded Multilevel Community-Based Mental Health Intervention to Address Structural Inequities and Adverse Disparate Consequences of COVID-19 Pandemic on Latinx Immigrants and African Refugees study aims to advance the science of multilevel interventions to reduce the disparate, adverse mental health, behavioral, and socioeconomic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic that are a result of complex interactions between underlying structural inequities and barriers to health care. The study tests three nested levels of intervention: 1) an efficacious 4-month advocacy and mutual learning model ( Refugee and Immigrant Well-being Project , RIWP ); 2) engagement with community-based organizations (CBOs); and 3) structural policy changes enacted in response to the pandemic. This community-based participatory research (CBPR) study builds on long-standing collaboration with five CBOs. By including 240 Latinx immigrants and 60 African refugees recruited from CBO partners who are randomly assigned to treatment-as-usual CBO involvement or the RIWP intervention and a comparison group comprised of a random sample of 300 Latinx immigrants, this mixed methods longitudinal waitlist control group design study with seven time points over 36 months tests the effectiveness of the RIWP intervention and engagement with CBOs to reduce psychological distress, daily stressors, and economic precarity and increase protective factors (social support, access to resources, English proficiency, cultural connectedness). The study also tests the ability of the RIWP intervention and engagement with CBOs to increase access to the direct benefits of structural interventions. This paper reports on the theoretical basis, design, qualitative and quantitative analysis plan, and power for the study.
... 8 Health & Social Care in the Community While participants without legal documents faced greater challenges in accessing healthcare services, those with legal documents, particularly a valid foreign passport, did not report signifcant issues. Hostile immigration policies have been shown to have signifcant detrimental efects on immigrant health [48,49]. While these fndings are similar to those of other regions where undocumented immigration is prominent [50], the availability of policies granting access to health services regardless of immigration status may enable healthcare-seeking practices among immigrants. ...
Migration to South Africa is motivated by the pursuit of employment, safety, and improved living conditions. However, immigrants encounter significant challenges, such as restricted access to essential services, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Malawian immigrants in South Africa, addressing the lack of attention given to this immigrant population by highlighting their vulnerabilities. Using a qualitative exploratory and descriptive approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 Malawi immigrants who were over 18 years old and had established residency in South Africa before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Five key stakeholders were also interviewed for additional perspectives and to ensure triangulation and improve data reliability. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis strategies and coding with Nvivo12 software. The study highlighted the exacerbated struggles of Malawian immigrants in South Africa amid the COVID-19 pandemic, uncovering systemic discrimination in healthcare, marked by longer wait times and reluctance from health workers to treat undocumented immigrants. The study also revealed a dire security situation, with immigrants living in high-crime areas and feeling particularly targeted due to their foreign status, a situation worsened by the pandemic’s economic effects. Additionally, the economic downturn induced by COVID-19 significantly impacted employment opportunities, with many immigrants facing prolonged unemployment and job losses, especially in sectors where they traditionally found work. The detailed accounts of participants highlight not only the multifaceted challenges imposed by the pandemic but also the critical need for inclusive policies and support systems that ensure healthcare access, safety, and economic resilience for immigrants, particularly during global health emergencies. Future research should focus on effective interventions for socioeconomic integration and well-being, particularly for immigrants from other African countries.
... Restrictive immigration policies enacted at federal, state, and local levels have long created obstacles for immigrants to equitably thrive in the US (Vernice et al., 2020;Martinez et al., 2015). As described above, a major consequence of immigration policies is that immigrants face multiple forms of precarity, from limited rights due to their legal status to denial of health benefits to lack of wage protections. ...
... The effects of employment exclusion on immigrant health may be further exacerbated by legal status. Mental and physical health of immigrants have been found to differ by legal status with some evidence of undocumented immigrants reporting depression and anxiety (Bacong & Menjivar, 2021;Martinez et al., 2015). For undocumented workers, their legal status creates greater risks of workplace vulnerabilities and injury (Flynn et al., 2015). ...
Restrictive federal and state immigration policies create conditions of employment exclusion that may negatively influence the health of immigrants. In particular, these policy effects are reflected in labor market and workplace experiences that determine the types of work and employment opportunities that immigrants are able to access and pursue. This study examines the relationship between both cumulative and individual measures of employment exclusion and self-rated health and psychological distress among Asian and Latino immigrants in California, and whether this relationship is modified by legal status. We used data from the Research on Immigrant Health and State Policy (RIGHTS) study (n = 2010). We used both multivariable logistic regression and linear regression models for our analyses. For cumulative models, labor market exclusion was associated with poor health (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.46). Workplace exclusion was also associated with poor self-rated health (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.15, 1.82) and increased psychological distress (β = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.31, 1.07). For individual measures of employment exclusion, settling for a job – a labor market exclusion – and working in a dangerous job and experiencing wage theft – workplace exclusions – were associated with poor health and increased psychological distress. There was no evidence that the association between employment exclusions and health varied by legal status. These findings demonstrate that the combined effect of employment exclusions is detrimental to immigrant health. To improve population health, public health researchers should continue to interrogate the policy conditions at the federal, state, and local level that exclude immigrants from employment opportunities and workplace protections.
... The report further estimated that by 2030, Africa would continue to be viewed as a continent of emigration, with 429,000 more Africans projected to relocate from Africa than the total number of immigrants it will receive or host from other regions around the globe. Despite this significant migration trend among African migrants, and the known impact of migration on mental health globally [7,8], mental health in African migrants remains poorly researched [9]. ...
Purpose
Mental health challenges are highly prevalent in African migrants. However, understanding of mental health outcomes in first-generation voluntary African migrants is limited, despite the unique challenges faced by this migrant subgroup. This review aimed to synthesize the literature to understand the mental health challenges, help-seeking behavior, and the relationship between mental health and mental health help-seeking behavior in first-generation voluntary African migrants living outside Africa.
Methods
Medline Complete, EMBASE, CINAHL Complete, and APA PsychINFO were searched for studies published between January 2012 to December 2023. Retrieved articles were processed, data from selected articles were extracted and synthesized to address the study aims, and included studies were evaluated for risk of bias.
Results
Eight studies were included, including four quantitative and four qualitative studies, which focused on women with postnatal depression. Mental health challenges reported in the quantitative studies were depression, interpersonal disorders, and work-related stress. Risk (e.g., neglect from health professionals and lack of social/spousal support) and protective (e.g., sensitivity of community services and faith) factors associated with mental health were identified. Barriers (e.g., cultural beliefs about mental health and racial discrimination) and facilitators (sensitizing African women about mental health) of mental health help-seeking behavior were also identified. No significant relationship was reported between mental health and mental health help-seeking behavior, and the risk of bias results indicated some methodological flaws in the studies.
Conclusion
This review shows the dearth of research focusing on mental health and help-seeking behavior in this subgroup of African migrants. The findings highlight the importance of African migrants, especially mothers with newborns, examining cultural beliefs that may impact their mental health and willingness to seek help. Receiving countries should also strive to understand the needs of first-generation voluntary African migrants living abroad and offer mental health support that is patient-centered and culturally sensitive.
... These threats include social isolation (loss of liberty due to fear of deportation), threat to family (fear of family separation), and the psychological impacts on well-being (Ayón, 2017). Not surprisingly, immigration-related threat is associated with greater symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety (Martinez et al., 2015). The negative impacts of immigration-related threat reverberate across the Latinx community (Ayón, 2017), and in particular, it may adversely impact Latinx youth in mixed status families due to family-level vicarious racism (Martin Romero & Stein, 2023). ...
Objective: To examine how cultural stressors (ethnic–racial discrimination, immigration-related threat, and COVID-19 stress) influence critical reflection, motivation, and action among Latinx adolescents and whether parental preparation for bias moderates these relations. Method: One hundred thirty-five Latinx adolescents (Mage = 16, 59.3% female, 85.2% U.S.-born) completed online surveys at two time points, 6 months apart. Results: Immigration-related threat was associated with greater Time 1 (T1) critical reflection (β = .31, p < .05) and Time 2 (T2) critical motivation (β = .24, p < .01). Preparation for bias moderated the relation between immigration-related threat and T1 critical action (β = .18, p < .01). COVID-19 stress was associated with greater T1 critical motivation (β = .24, p < .01) and T2 critical action (β = .18, p = .01). Conclusions: Cultural stressors may alert Latinx youth to systemic injustices in the United States, and combined with parental messages, may empower youth to address inequities.
... We did not assess participants' own documentation status, in part because inquiring about documentation status may result in concern about how that information may be used (O. Martinez et al., 2015;Yasuike, 2019). ...
Objective: Farmworkers in the United States contribute to the trillion-dollar agriculture industry through their work in agricultural fields, orchards, ranches, dairies, processing, and packing houses. Seventy-three percent of migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States are immigrants and face negative attitudes and prejudices. The present study was designed to better understand how farmworkers in the United States are perceived by nonworkers. Method: Using a sample of 242 adult participants (Mage = 26.85, SD = 9.78; 53.7% non-Hispanic White) from the United States collected online, data were collected on negative attitudes toward immigrants, perceptions of farmworkers’ contribution to the economy, and voting on hypothetical bills related to immigration. Results: Negative attitudes toward immigrants and perception of economic contribution were both significant in estimating voting, as was their interaction. At high levels of negative attitudes toward immigrants, knowledge of the economic contribution of farmworkers buffered the relationship between negative attitudes and support for pro-immigrant voting. Specifically, those who perceived farmworkers to contribute to the economy were more likely to indicate hypothetical pro-immigrant voting. Conclusions: The present study highlights awareness of the importance of farmworkers to our economy in relation to attitudes toward farmworkers.
... However, the key factors such as underlying associations of the established patterns of substance use mental health disorder symptoms and sociodemographic differences have not been studied in the J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f immigrant (i.e., individuals not born in the U.S.) and U.S.-born (i.e., individuals born in the U.S.) populations. Immigration status is a significant social determinant of health, especially in the U.S. where the highest number of immigrants worldwide live (Castañeda et al., 2015;DeFries et al., 2022;Kagotho et al., 2020;Martinez et al., 2015). Immigrants are also one of the most vulnerable, disadvantaged, and minority groups that experience greater risks of poor health and substance use disorder complications (DeFries et al., 2022;Grace et al., 2018;Kagotho et al., 2020). ...
... Our findings also revealed a shared vulnerability to dual substance use behavior among individuals with mental health disorder symptoms irrespective of immigration status, but with higher effect sizes among U.S.-born. This association between substance use and mental health underlines the importance of an integrated approach to tackling this issue, where mental health and significant social determinants of health (e.g., immigration status) considerations are treated as integral to substance use interventions(Castañeda et al., 2015;Conway et al., 2017;DeFries et al., 2022;Duan et al., 2022; Grace et al., 2018; Kagotho et al., 2020; Kondracki et al., 2022; Lewis et al., 2022;Martinez et al., 2015;Spears et al., , 2020Thrul et al., 2020). Furthermore, the widespread prevalence of dual use across immigrant and U.S.-born populations, particularly U.S.-born, indicates the need for personalized prevention strategies alongside those targeted toward specific high-risk groups.Our research also found that immigrant populations, adjusting for sociodemographic factors, mental health status, and alcohol use characteristics, exhibited lower risks of being exclusive cannabis users and dual users of e-cigarettes and cannabis. ...
Introduction
E-cigarette and cannabis use has been linked to various health risks, including respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. Yet, extant knowledge about the risk factors for exclusive and dual use of e-cigarettes and cannabis is limited, especially among immigrants. We examined exclusive e-cigarette and cannabis use and their dual use associated with mental health disorders among immigrants and U.S.-born.
Methods
We analyzed national cross-sectional data collected between May 13, 2021, and January 9, 2022, among adults aged ≥18 years (n= 4766) living in U.S. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to model the associations of exclusivity and dual-use (reference group= non-use) with anxiety/depression.
Results
The dual-use prevalence was higher than exclusive e-cigarette and cannabis use, especially among U.S.-born (dual use= 14.79% vs. cannabis use= 13.53% vs. e-cigarette use= 7.11%) compared to immigrants (dual use= 8.23% vs. cannabis use= 5.03% vs. e-cigarette use= 6.31%). Immigrants had lower risks of exclusive cannabis and dual use compared to U.S.-born. Anxiety/depression was associated with higher risks of exclusive cannabis use and dual use across immigration status, but was associated with exclusive e-cigarette use among only immigrants. While effect sizes of dual-use associated with anxiety/depression were higher among U.S.-born, the effect sizes of exclusive e-cigarette and cannabis use associated with anxiety/depression were higher among immigrants.
Conclusions
The findings revealed significant mental health risks for e-cigarette, cannabis, and their dual use among immigrants and U.S.-born, especially among U.S.-born. These findings highlight the need for public health research and interventions to consider immigration status-related disparities in substance use.
... Some researchers have called for greater attention to the roles of structural-level determinants of health in response to the proliferation of research focusing mainly on ethno-cultural differences in health behaviors (Bacong & Menjívar, 2021;Castañeda et al., 2015;Perreira & Pedroza, 2019;Viruell-Fuentes et al., 2012). Research aligned with this call has investigated the effects of lacking citizenship and legal status, as well as the impact of racialization, on noncitizens' and unauthorized immigrants' access to healthcare services (Capps et al. 2013;Fix & Passel, 1999;Oropesa et al., 2016) and their overall health (Asad & Clair, 2018;Cheong & Massey, 2018;Gee et al., 2016;Martinez et al., 2015). However, limited research has delved into disparities in governmental support across legal-entry groups and their potential influence on post-arrival health. ...
Immigrants initially arrive in the United States in better health than the U.S.-born, but this advantage tends to diminish over time. The factors behind the existence and decline of the immigrant health advantage (IHA) are a subject of ongoing debate. While prior research has mainly focused on ethno-cultural group differences and individual selection dynamics, this study investigates how institutional selection and support, varying with different legal-entry pathways, affect immigrants' initial health status and subsequent health trajectory. Leveraging microdata samples from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey (ASEC-CPS), the research offers a comparative analysis of work disability and self-rated health across the U.S.-born demographic and three legal-entry groups: employment-based, refugee, and U.S.-territory entries. The findings reveal a significant initial health advantage for both employment-based and refugee entries compared to the U.S.-born. However, while the health advantage holds steady for refugee entry over longer durations of stay, it diminishes for employment-based entry. These findings hold important implications for policies regarding immigration and immigrant integration.
... Collaborative efforts, including intelligence sharing, coordinated law enforcement operations, and the development of common prevention strategies, can significantly improve the effectiveness of combating this complex and cross-border crime. Numerous studies highlight that migrants often face unique risks and vulnerabilities during the migration process, including limited access to information, language barriers, and limited understanding of local laws and legal procedures (Martinez et al., 2015;McLaughlin and Alfaro-Velcamp, 2015;Caxaj et al., 2023;Szablewska and Kubacki, 2018). These factors may increase the risk of becoming involved in human trafficking situations. ...
Kazakhstan, with its open borders with CIS nations and significant migration flows, emerges as a key origin, transit, and destination point in human trafficking. While acknowledging Kazakhstan’s modest progress in combating human trafficking, this study aims to develop comprehensive proposals for enhancing the protection of trafficking victims’ rights in Kazakhstan. It seeks to identify legal and enforcement gaps, analyze available social and legal protections, and address key issues in victim rights protection. The study aligns with the burgeoning academic discourse on human trafficking, which has significantly influenced policy and methodological approaches in estimating trafficking prevalence. It encompasses research focusing on defining human trafficking, factors contributing to its incidence, and evaluating the effectiveness of countermeasures. Addressing a relatively nascent area of research in Kazakhstan’s context, this study will enhance existing knowledge and contribute to developing effective anti-trafficking strategies within the country. The overall assessment underscores a lack of consistency in Kazakhstan’s approach to its mandate to curtail human trafficking. Despite this, the study presents a promising path forward, concluding that with the introduction of a dedicated anti-human trafficking law and strategic organizational reforms, substantial advancements could be realized to reinforce legal accountability and prevent such exploitation.
