Immigrant women's health: Infectious diseases - Part 2.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
SEARCH · Search PubMed
Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
An examination is made of various hypotheses which have been developed to account for the frequently observed inverse relationship between social class and psychological disturbance. Two of these explanations--the social selection and social causation hypotheses--are tested in a study designed to enable an assessment of their relative power to be made. Quasi-random samples of 200 Indian-born, 200 Pakistani-born and 240 native-born residents of England were interviewed and measures of social class, psychological symptoms and other relevant variables made. The results failed to support either of the two hypotheses as the expected social class gradient in psychological disorder only emerged in the native group. Indian immigrants in fact showed a reversal with higher status individuals, especially women, having higher symptom levels. Overall Indian immigrants had significantly fewer symptoms than either of the other groups. The findings are discussed in terms of differential selection for migration and the varying experiences of immigrants after arrival in Britain.
Building on a conceptual model of the transition to elementary school, this study explored the role of health in the early cognitive achievement of children from various racial/ethnic minority and immigrant families by applying multilevel modeling to data from a nationally representative sample of American kindergarteners. Whites tended to have the best physical health before transitioning to first grade. Children from immigrant Latino/a and Asian families had the worst physical health but the best mental health. Compared to white children from native families, these health differentials partially explained the lower math achievement and achievement growth of black children (whether from native or immigrant families) in first grade as well as the lower math achievement of children from Latino/a immigrant families and the lower achievement growth of children from Asian immigrant families during this period.
Data are presented from four studies which compare rates of psychological disturbance for three groups of immigrants to Britain and natives respectively. Children of West Indian and Asian parents are compared to native British children on the Rutter Teachers' Questionnaire and on rates of admission to psychiatric hospitals. Asian children have lower rates of behavioural deviance and mental hospital admissions than do British children. Children of West Indian immigrants show no more behavioural deviance in schools than do British children, but have considerably higher rates of admission to mental hospitals. The pattern for adults is remarkably similar to that shown by children, even though different definitions of psychological disturbance are used. The findings are discussed in the context of previous studies of immigrants to Britain and contemporary theories of immigrant adjustment.
In Canada, the population of older adults is becoming ethnically diverse. However, our understanding of the health behaviors including diet and physical activity among this group is limited. The purpose of this study is to examine the dietary and physical activity profiles, and the factors that influence these behaviors, among older immigrants. The sample included 54 participants (mean age = 68 +/- 6 years) from Cambodian, Latin-American, Vietnamese and Polish groups. Measures included background questionnaire, nutrition screening tool, 24-hour dietary recall, and physical activity assessment. Results showed that 72.5% were at moderate to high risk for poor nutrition. Identified dietary issues were related to food preparation, nutrition management for diseases, and nutritional needs of the elderly. Although 83.3% reported to be physically active, the level was less than optimal, and barriers to physical activity were identified. The results are further discussed in light of health promotion and nutrition education among immigrant older adults.
"This paper outlines European trends in immigration and national policy regimes, focusing in particular on the social rights of established immigrants; part three looks at recent European transnational measures--mostly inspired by the 1992 initiative. Finally some of the implications of 1992 for immigrants in Europe are explored."
This article notes the health care risks for immigrant children and describes recent restrictions on their ability to apply for Medicaid. It is reasonable to estimate that by the year 2001, there could be as many as two million immigrant children in the United States who are ineligible for Medicaid simply due to their immigration status. The article also describes the opportunities under the new federal law, Title XXI of the Social Security Act, which enables states to develop health care programs specifically for low-income immigrant children who are ineligible for Medicaid. Pediatricians, advocates for children, and health care providers who serve immigrant communities can use their knowledge of the opportunities in this new law to work with state lawmakers and health policy officials to help provide services to needy immigrant children.
The racial politics of immigration have punctuated national discussions about immigration at different periods in US history, particularly when concerns about losing an American way of life or American population have coincided with concerns about infectious diseases. Nevertheless, the main theme running through American immigration policy is one of inclusion. The United States has historically been a nation reliant on immigrant labor and, accordingly, the most consequential public policies regarding immigration have responded to disease and its economic burdens by seeking to control the behavior of immigrants within our borders rather than excluding immigrants at our borders.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
This article asks whether information about immigrants beyond their age, education, and years since migration can be productively used to project their earnings. Although many factors could affect immigrant earnings, what is most useful for Social Security modelling purposes is relevant information that is readily available on a continuous basis. Country of origin is a good candidate, as it is regularly and readily available from several administrative and survey data sources. In this article, microdata samples from the 1960-90 censuses are used to examine the relationship between country of origin and the earnings of immigrants. By following cohorts of immigrants over 10-year intervals, we learn how country of origin affects the initial earnings of immigrants and how the relationship between country of origin and immigrant earnings changes as immigrants continue to live in the United States. The article also presents theoretical insights and empirical evidence about the underlying causes of the link between country of origin and immigrant earnings.
At the Centre for Torture and Trauma Survivors in Stockholm, 201 subjects from 34 countries were documented during a period of five years. Torture reports differed little between individuals from the same countries or regions, regarding methods and circumstances. Africans from Uganda (n = 22) reported brutal torture and manifested extensive scarring (mean number of scars, 20; range 4-65), whereas subjects from Syria (n = 28) reported falaka (i.e., bastinade), whipping and suspension, but manifested few or no scars (mean number 5, range 0-17). Of the subjects examined, 17% were women, of whom 79% reported having been raped during torture. Chronic back pain was the most common complaint at the time of examination. Correlation was found to exist between sexual torture and genito-urinary symptoms, bastinade and neural symptoms, and electrical torture and symptoms from the joints and gastro-intestinal tract. Severity of physical torture was a correlate of post-traumatic stress disorder. However, the forensic report had no effect on the verdict of immigration authorities regarding individual asylum applications.
A fervent anti-immigrant sentiment is picking up momentum, and it is reflected in state and federal legislative proposals, including those addressing health reform. If these bills become law, including a California initiative, doctors and nurses could be turned into border patrol guards, and as many as one million legal immigrants could be denied non-emergency medical care.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
This study examines associations between geographic origin and risk for congenital infections, through a chart review of women from the St. James Town area of Toronto delivering at Wellesley Hospital in 1996. Foreign-born women (n = 203) were significantly less likely than Canadian-born women (n = 53) to be HBsAg negative (187/193 vs. 48/48; RR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.94-0.99). There was no significant difference in rubella seronegativity, but rubella immunity was unacceptably low in both groups (less than 90%). A number of rubella non-immune women had delivered previously in Canada. Procedures must be implemented to ensure completion of hepatitis B immunization series in affected newborns, and rubella immunization in seronegative women prior to discharge. As well, updating immunization status most become a routine part of the immigration medical examination.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.