Demography
Volume 55, Issue 3, 2018, Pages 979-1007

Health Selection, Migration, and HIV Infection in Malawi (Article)

Anglewicz P.* , VanLandingham M. , Manda-Taylor L. , Kohler H.-P.
  • a Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal Street Suite 2210, New Orleans, LA 70112, United States
  • b Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal Street Suite 2210, New Orleans, LA 70112, United States
  • c Malawi College of Medicine, John Chiphangwi Learning Resource Centre, University of Malawi, 3rd Floor, Private Bag 360, Chichiri Blantyre, Malawi
  • d Department of Sociology and Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6299, United States

Abstract

Despite its importance in studies of migrant health, selectivity of migrants—also known as migration health selection—has seldom been examined in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This neglect is problematic because several features of the context in which migration occurs in SSA—very high levels of HIV, in particular—differ from contextual features in regions that have been studied more thoroughly. To address this important gap, we use longitudinal panel data from Malawi to examine whether migrants differ from nonmigrants in pre-migration health, assessed via SF-12 measures of mental and physical health. In addition to overall health selection, we focus on three more-specific factors that may affect the relationship between migration and health: (1) whether migration health selection differs by destination (rural-rural, rural-town, and rural-urban), (2) whether HIV infection moderates the relationship between migration and health, and (3) whether circular migrants differ in pre-migration health status. We find evidence of the healthy migrant phenomenon in Malawi, where physically healthier individuals are more likely to move. This relationship varies by migration destination, with healthier rural migrants moving to urban and other rural areas. We also find interactions between HIV-infected status and health: HIV-infected women moving to cities are physically healthier than their nonmigrant counterparts. © 2018, Population Association of America.

Author Keywords

Migration HIV infection Mental health Selection Physical health

Index Keywords

longitudinal study HIV Infections Human immunodeficiency virus infection demography developing country mental health Developing Countries human Longitudinal Studies middle aged statistics and numerical data health status Residence Characteristics Humans male female Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics adult migration Transients and Migrants Malawi
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85046020667&doi=10.1007%2fs13524-018-0668-5&partnerID=40&md5=e89c1e456e5c0f209c6ddba6455d90ad
DOI: 10.1007/s13524-018-0668-5
ISSN: 00703370
Cited by: 4
Original Language: English