Migration and the epidemiological transition: insights from the Agincourt sub-district of northeast South Africa
Background: Migration and urbanization are central to sustainable development and health, but data on temporal trends in defined populations are scarce. Healthy men and women migrate because opportunities for employment and betterment are not equally distributed geographically. The disruption can re...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2014-05-01
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| Series: | Global Health Action |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.globalhealthaction.net/index.php/gha/article/download/23514/pdf_1 |
| _version_ | 1811196598875586560 |
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| author | Mark A. Collinson Michael J. White Philippe Bocquier Stephen T. McGarvey Sulaimon A. Afolabi Samuel J. Clark Kathleen Kahn Stephen M. Tollman |
| author_facet | Mark A. Collinson Michael J. White Philippe Bocquier Stephen T. McGarvey Sulaimon A. Afolabi Samuel J. Clark Kathleen Kahn Stephen M. Tollman |
| author_sort | Mark A. Collinson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Migration and urbanization are central to sustainable development and health, but data on temporal trends in defined populations are scarce. Healthy men and women migrate because opportunities for employment and betterment are not equally distributed geographically. The disruption can result in unhealthy exposures and environments and income returns for the origin household. Objectives: The objectives of the paper are to describe the patterns, levels, and trends of temporary migration in rural northeast South Africa; the mortality trends by cause category over the period 2000–2011; and the associations between temporary migration and mortality by broad cause of death categories. Method: Longitudinal, Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System data are used in a continuous, survival time, competing-risk model. Findings: In rural, northeast South Africa, temporary migration, which involves migrants relocating mainly for work purposes and remaining linked to the rural household, is more important than age and sex in explaining variations in mortality, whatever the cause. In this setting, the changing relationship between temporary migration and communicable disease mortality is primarily affected by reduced exposure of the migrant to unhealthy conditions. The study suggests that the changing relationship between temporary migration and non-communicable disease mortality is mainly affected by increased livelihood benefits of longer duration migration. Conclusion: Since temporary migration is not associated with communicable diseases only, public health policies should account for population mobility whatever the targeted health risk. There is a need to strengthen the rural health care system, because migrants tend to return to the rural households when they need health care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:01:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b3aea7b643954c768d2bb1313bc56f97 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1654-9880 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:01:31Z |
| publishDate | 2014-05-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Health Action |
| spelling | doaj.art-b3aea7b643954c768d2bb1313bc56f972022-12-22T03:54:26ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGlobal Health Action1654-98802014-05-017011510.3402/gha.v7.2351423514Migration and the epidemiological transition: insights from the Agincourt sub-district of northeast South AfricaMark A. Collinson0Michael J. White1Philippe Bocquier2Stephen T. McGarvey3Sulaimon A. Afolabi4Samuel J. Clark5Kathleen Kahn6Stephen M. Tollman7 MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa Brown University School of Public Health, International Health Institute, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaBackground: Migration and urbanization are central to sustainable development and health, but data on temporal trends in defined populations are scarce. Healthy men and women migrate because opportunities for employment and betterment are not equally distributed geographically. The disruption can result in unhealthy exposures and environments and income returns for the origin household. Objectives: The objectives of the paper are to describe the patterns, levels, and trends of temporary migration in rural northeast South Africa; the mortality trends by cause category over the period 2000–2011; and the associations between temporary migration and mortality by broad cause of death categories. Method: Longitudinal, Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System data are used in a continuous, survival time, competing-risk model. Findings: In rural, northeast South Africa, temporary migration, which involves migrants relocating mainly for work purposes and remaining linked to the rural household, is more important than age and sex in explaining variations in mortality, whatever the cause. In this setting, the changing relationship between temporary migration and communicable disease mortality is primarily affected by reduced exposure of the migrant to unhealthy conditions. The study suggests that the changing relationship between temporary migration and non-communicable disease mortality is mainly affected by increased livelihood benefits of longer duration migration. Conclusion: Since temporary migration is not associated with communicable diseases only, public health policies should account for population mobility whatever the targeted health risk. There is a need to strengthen the rural health care system, because migrants tend to return to the rural households when they need health care.http://www.globalhealthaction.net/index.php/gha/article/download/23514/pdf_1migrationtemporary migrationmortalityepidemiological transitionSouth AfricaAgincourthealth and demographic surveillance |
| spellingShingle | Mark A. Collinson Michael J. White Philippe Bocquier Stephen T. McGarvey Sulaimon A. Afolabi Samuel J. Clark Kathleen Kahn Stephen M. Tollman Migration and the epidemiological transition: insights from the Agincourt sub-district of northeast South Africa Global Health Action migration temporary migration mortality epidemiological transition South Africa Agincourt health and demographic surveillance |
| title | Migration and the epidemiological transition: insights from the Agincourt sub-district of northeast South Africa |
| title_full | Migration and the epidemiological transition: insights from the Agincourt sub-district of northeast South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Migration and the epidemiological transition: insights from the Agincourt sub-district of northeast South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Migration and the epidemiological transition: insights from the Agincourt sub-district of northeast South Africa |
| title_short | Migration and the epidemiological transition: insights from the Agincourt sub-district of northeast South Africa |
| title_sort | migration and the epidemiological transition insights from the agincourt sub district of northeast south africa |
| topic | migration temporary migration mortality epidemiological transition South Africa Agincourt health and demographic surveillance |
| url | http://www.globalhealthaction.net/index.php/gha/article/download/23514/pdf_1 |
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