Immigrants' health and health inequality by type of integration policies in European countries

Background: Recent efforts to characterize integration policy towards immigrants and to compare immigrants' health across countries have rarely been combined so far. This study explores the relationship of country-level integration policy with immigrants' health status in Europe. Methods:...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Malmusi D.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2015
País:España
Institución:Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau)
Repositorio:r-IIB SANT PAU. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica del Instituto de Investigación Biomédica Sant Pau
OAI Identifier:oai:iibsantpau.fundanetsuite.com:p10417
Acceso en línea:https://iibsantpau.fundanetsuite.com/Publicaciones/ProdCientif/PublicacionFrw.aspx?id=10417
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84926625704&doi=10.1093%2feurpub%2fcku156&partnerID=40&md5=c78fa63b4ad0700eccf33178d01b61d3
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:adolescent
adult
aged
cross-sectional study
Europe
female
health disparity
health status
human
male
middle aged
migrant
policy
socioeconomics
statistics and numerical data
young adult
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Cross-Sectional Studies
Emigrants and Immigrants
Female
Health Status
Health Status Disparities
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Public Policy
Socioeconomic Factors
Young Adult
Descripción
Sumario:Background: Recent efforts to characterize integration policy towards immigrants and to compare immigrants' health across countries have rarely been combined so far. This study explores the relationship of country-level integration policy with immigrants' health status in Europe. Methods: Cross-sectional study with data from the 2011 European Union Survey on Income and Living Conditions. Fourteen countries were grouped according to a typology of integration policies based on the Migrant Integration Policy Index: 'multicultural' (highest scores: UK, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Portugal, Norway, Finland), 'exclusionist' (lowest scores: Austria, Denmark) and 'assimilationist' (high or low depending on the dimension: France, Switzerland, Luxembourg). People born in the country (natives, n = 177 300) or outside the European Union with >10 years of residence (immigrants, n = 7088) were included. Prevalence ratios (PR) of fair/poor self-rated health between immigrants in each country cluster, and for immigrants versus natives within each, were computed adjusting by age, education, occupation and socio-economic conditions. Results: Compared with multicultural countries, immigrants report worse health in exclusionist countries (age-adjusted PR, 95% CI: men 1.78, 1.49-2.12; women 1.58, 1.37-1.82; fully adjusted, men 1.78, 1.50-2.11; women 1.47, 1.26-1.70) and assimilationist countries (age-adjusted, men 1.21, 1.03-1.41; women 1.21, 1.06-1.39; fully adjusted, men 1.19, 1.02-1.40; women 1.22, 1.07-1.40). Health inequalities between immigrants and natives were also highest in exclusionist countries, where they persisted even after adjusting for differences in socio-economic situation. Conclusion: Immigrants in 'exclusionist' countries experience poorer socio-economic and health outcomes. Future studies should confirm whether and how integration policy models could make a difference on migrants' health. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.