Medicine, Conflict and Survival
Volume 26, Issue 3, 2010, Pages 207-222

Pre- and post-displacement stressors and time of migration as related to self-rated health among Iraqi immigrants and refugees in southeast Michigan (Article)

Jamil H.* , Nassar-Mcmillan S. , Lambert R. , Wang Y. , Ager J. , Arnetz B.
  • a Wayne State University, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Michigan, United States
  • b North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
  • c University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, United States
  • d Wayne State University, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan, United States
  • e Wayne State University, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan, United States
  • f Wayne State University, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Michigan, United States

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine whether perceived health status of Iraqi immigrants and refugees residing in the United States was related to pre-migration environmental stress, current unemployment, and if they had emigrated before or after the 1991 Gulf War. A random sample of Iraqis residing in Southeast Michigan, US, was interviewed using an Arab language structured survey. The main outcome measure was self-rated health (SRH). Major predictors included socioeconomics, employment status, pre-migration environmental stress, and health disorders. Path analysis was used to look at mediating effects between predictors and SRH. We found that SRH was significantly worse among participants that had left Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War. Unemployment and environmental stress exposure were inversely related to SRH. There was a direct path between Gulf War exposure and poor health. In addition, there were indirect paths mediated through psychosomatic and psychiatric disorders to SRH. Another path went from Gulf War exposure, via environmental stress and somatic health to poor health. Unemployment had a direct path, as well as indirect paths mediated through psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders, to poor selfrated health. In conclusion, these results suggest that pre- as well as post-migration factors, and period of migration, affect health. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.

Author Keywords

Health War Iraqi Environmental stress displacement

Index Keywords

unemployment refugee psychological aspect Michigan human Refugees middle aged statistics war Stress, Psychological mental stress health status quality of life United States Humans male Emigrants and Immigrants female Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics Article adult migration Gulf War
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-79952260880&doi=10.1080%2f13623699.2010.513655&partnerID=40&md5=ff46469282f3cb984e7ebd92d214c7e6
DOI: 10.1080/13623699.2010.513655
ISSN: 13623699
Cited by: 17
Original Language: English