Issues In Immigration And Border Health

Since 1965 the foreign-born population of the United States has swelled from 9.6 million or 5 percent of the population to 45 million or 14 percent in 2015. Today, about one-quarter of the U.S. population consists of immigrants or the children of immigrants. Given the sizable representation of immigrants in the U.S. population, their health is a major influence on the health of the population as a whole. On average, immigrants are healthier than native-born Americans. Yet, immigrants also are subject to the systematic marginalization and discrimination that often lead to the creation of health disparities. To explore the link between immigration and health disparities, the Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity held a workshop in Oakland, California, on November 28, 2017. This summary of that workshop highlights the presentations and discussions of the workshop.

US-Mexico border region area has unique social, demographic and policy forces at work that shape the health of its residents as well as serves as a microcosm of migration health challenges facing an increasingly mobile and globalized world. This region reflects the largest migratory flow between any two nations in the world. Data from the Pew Research Center shows over the last 25 years there has never been lower than 140,000 annual immigrants from Mexico to the United States (with peaks over 700,000). This migratory route is extremely hazardous due to natural (e.g., arid and hot desert regions) and human made barriers as well as border enforcement practices tied to socio-political and geopolitical pressures. Also, reflecting the national interdependency of public health and human services needs, during the most recent five year period surveyed the migratory flow between the US and Mexico has equaled that of the flow of Mexico to the US--both around 1.4 million persons. Of particular public health concern, within the US-Mexico region of both nations there is among the highest disparities in income, education, infrastructure and access to health care--factors within the World Health Organization’s conceptualization of the Social Determinants of Health, and among the highest rates of chronic disease. For instance obesity and diabetes rates in this region are among the highest of those monitored in the world, with adult population estimates of the former over 40% and estimates in some population sub-groups for the latter over 20%. The publications reflected in this Research Topic, all reviewed from experts in the field, addressed many of the public health issues in the US Mexico Border Health Commission’s Healthy Border 2020 objectives. Those objectives-- broad public health goals used to guide a diverse range of government, research and community-based stakeholders--include Non Communicable Diseases (including adult and childhood obesity-related ones; cancer), Infectious Diseases (e.g., tuberculosis; HIV; emerging diseases--particularly mosquito borne illnesses), Maternal and Child Health, Mental Health Disorders, and Motor Vehicle Accidents. Other relevant public health issues affecting this region, for example environmental health, binational health services coordination (e.g., immunization), the impact of migration throughout the Americas and globally in this region, health issues related to the physical climate, access to quality health care, discrimination/mistreatment and well-being, acculturative/immigration stress, violence, substance use/abuse, oral health, respiratory disease, and well-being from a social determinants of health framework, are critical areas addressed in these publications or for future research. Each of these Research Topic publications presented applied solutions (e.g., new programs, technology or infrastructure) and/or public health policy recommendations relevant to each public health challenge addressed.

Foreign nationals not already legally residing in the U.S. who wish to come to the U.S. must obtain an immigration document and submit to an inspection to be admitted. They must first meet a set of criteria that determine whether they are eligible for admission. One of the reasons why they might be deemed inadmissible is on health-related grounds. The diseases that trigger inadmissibility are communicable diseases of public health significance. Contents of this report: (1) Intro.; (2) Health-Related Grounds for Exclusion: Communicable Diseases: Waivers of the Health Grounds; Vaccination Requirements; (3) Port of Entry Policies and Procedures; (4) Contagious Diseases: Swine Flu; TB. Append.: CDC Quarantine Stations; CDC Tech. Guidance.

In their later years, Americans of different racial and ethnic backgrounds are not in equally good-or equally poor-health. There is wide variation, but on average older Whites are healthier than older Blacks and tend to outlive them. But Whites tend to be in poorer health than Hispanics and Asian Americans. This volume documents the differentials and considers possible explanations. Selection processes play a role: selective migration, for instance, or selective survival to advanced ages. Health differentials originate early in life, possibly even before birth, and are affected by events and experiences throughout the life course. Differences in socioeconomic status, risk behavior, social relations, and health care all play a role. Separate chapters consider the contribution of such factors and the biopsychosocial mechanisms that link them to health. This volume provides the empirical evidence for the research agenda provided in the separate report of the Panel on Race, Ethnicity, and Health in Later Life.

Here is the first comprehensive cross-disciplinary work to examine the current health situation of our immigrants, successfully integrating the vast literature of diverse fields -- epidemiology, health services research, anthropology, law, medicine, social work, health promotion, and bioethics -- to explore the richness and diversity of the immigrant population from a culturally-sensitive perspective. This unequalled resource examines methodological issues, issues in clinical care and research, health and disease in specific immigrant populations, patterns of specific diseases in immigrant groups in the US, and conclusive insight towards the future. Complete with 73 illustrations, this singular book is the blueprint for where we must go in the future.

The sister cities of the southwestern United States border are challenged by widespread environmental and health issues and limited access to help. And while different initiatives have been set up to improve health outcomes and lessen inequities in the border region, evaluation data are scarce. Culture and Health Disparities provides a perspective on U.S.-Mexico border health with an evidence-based guide for conceptualizing, implementing, and evaluating health interventions. Taking into account the unique qualities of border life and their influence on general wellbeing, this important volume offers detailed criteria for creating public health programs that are medically, culturally, and ethically sound. The book identifies gaps in intervention research on major health concerns in the area, relating them to disparity-reduction efforts in the rest of the U.S. and arguing for more relevant means of data gathering and analysis. The author also asserts that progress can be made on both sides of the border despite concurrent social and political problems in the region. Included in the coverage: The border region as a social system. The development of health disparities: a life-course model. A social systems approach to understanding health disparities. A critique of U.S.-Mexico border health interventions. Evaluating interventions to reduce healthcare disparities. Ethical issues in health interventions across cultures and contexts. A text for researchers and practitioners working to promote border health and reduce service inequalities, Culture and Health Disparities asks pertinent questions and provides workable, meaningful answers.

Borders of Belonging investigates a pressing but previously unexplored aspect of immigration in America—the impact of immigration policies and practices not only on undocumented migrants, but also on their family members, some of whom possess a form of legal status. Heide Castañeda reveals the trauma, distress, and inequalities that occur daily, alongside the stratification of particular family members' access to resources like education, employment, and health care. She also paints a vivid picture of the resilience, resistance, creative responses, and solidarity between parents and children, siblings, and other kin. Castañeda's innovative ethnography combines fieldwork with individuals and family groups to paint a full picture of the experiences of mixed-status families as they navigate the emotional, social, political, and medical difficulties that inevitably arise when at least one family member lacks legal status. Exposing the extreme conditions in the heavily-regulated U.S./Mexico borderlands, this book presents a portentous vision of how the further encroachment of immigration enforcement would affect millions of mixed-status families throughout the country.

There is increasing interest in the scientific literature on immigrant health and its impact on disease transmission, disease prevention, health promotion, well-being on an individual and population level, health policy, and the cost of managing all these issues on an individual, institutional, national, and global level. The need for accurate and up-to-date information is particularly acute due to the increasing numbers of immigrants and refugees worldwide as the result of natural disasters, political turmoil, the growing numbers of immigrants to magnet countries, and the increasing costs of associated health care that are being felt by governments around the world. Format and Scope: The first portion of the encyclopedia contains chapters that are approximately 25 to 40 manuscript pages in length. Each overview chapter includes a list of references and suggested readings for cross referencing within the encyclopedia. The opening chapters are: Immigration in the Global Context, Immigration Processes and Health in the U.S.: A Brief History, Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Culture-Specific Diagnoses, Health Determinants, Occupational and Environmental Health, Methodological Issues in Immigrant Health Research, Ethical Issues in Research with Immigrants and Refugees, Ethical Issues in the Clinical Context. The second portion of the book consists of alphabetical entries that relate to the health of immigrants. Entries are interdisciplinary and are drawn from the following fields of study: anthropology, demographics, history, law, linguistics, medicine, population studies, psychology, religion, and sociology. Each entry is followed by a listing of suggested readings and suggested resources, and also links to related terms within the whole book. Outstanding Features The book adopts a biopsychosocial-historical approach to the topics covered in the chapters and the entries. Each entry includes suggested readings and suggested resources. The chapters and entries are written graduate level that is accessible to all academics, researchers, and professionals from diverse backgrounds. We consider the audience for the entries to be well educated, but a non expert in this area. The primary focus of the book is on the immigrant populations in and immigration to magnet countries. References are made to worldwide trends and issues arising globally. In addition to the comprehensive subject coverage the text also offers diverse perspectives. The editors themselves reflect the multidisciplinary nature of the topics, with expertise in psychiatry, law, epidemiology, anthropology, and social work. Authors similarly reflect diverse disciplines.

In this volume, Lisa Sun-Hee Park investigates how the politics of immigration, health care, and welfare are intertwined. In this book, Park delves into one of the front lines of the battle over the boundaries of citizenship and nation and the meaning of social rights.