Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
Volume 61, Issue SUPPL. 2, 2007, Pages ii4-ii10

The contribution of a gender perspective to the understanding of migrants' health (Article) (Open Access)

Llácer A.* , Zunzunegui M.V. , Del Amo J. , Mazarrasa L. , Bolůmar F.
  • a Centro Nacional de Epidemiología, c/Sinesio Delgado no 6 (Pabellón 12), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain, Instituto Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain, Ciber de Epidemiología Y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain
  • b Técnicas Avanzadas de Investigación en Servicios de Salud (TAISS), Madrid, Spain, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Que., Canada
  • c Instituto Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
  • d Instituto Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
  • e Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid, Spain, Ciber de Epidemiología Y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain

Abstract

In 2005 women represented approximately half of all 190 million international migrants worldwide. This paper addresses the need to integrate a gender perspective into epidemiological studies on migration and health, outlines conceptual gaps and discusses some methodological problems. We mainly consider the international voluntary migrant. Women may emigrate as wives or as workers in a labour market in which they face double segregation, both as migrants and as women. We highlight migrant women's heightened vulnerability to situations of violence, as well as important gaps in our knowledge of the possible differential health effects of factors such as poverty, unemployment, social networks and support, discrimination, health behaviours and use of services. We provide an overview of the problems of characterising migrant populations in the health information systems, and of possible biases in the health effects caused by failure to take the triple dimension of gender, social class and ethnicity into account.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

unemployment gender relations health care policy poverty health care personnel human epidemiology Health Behavior health status migrant worker social status Humans sexism female emigration Health Status Indicators women's health Article migration health care quality Sex Factors ethnicity health care system Transients and Migrants social class health hazard womens health
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-36749095774&doi=10.1136%2fjech.2007.061770&partnerID=40&md5=ac921b526a0fdf477f2acef35c0d96a3
DOI: 10.1136/jech.2007.061770
ISSN: 0143005X
Cited by: 101
Original Language: English