Impact of legal status regularization on undocumented migrants’ self-reported and mental health in Switzerland
Undocumented migrants face cumulative difficulties like precarious living and working conditions or exclusion from health services that might negatively influence their health. Little is known about the evolution of undocumented migrants’ self-reported health (SRH) and mental health after they get d...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-06-01
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| Series: | SSM: Population Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827323000630 |
| _version_ | 1797823726912274432 |
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| author | Jan-Erik Refle Julien Fakhoury Claudine Burton-Jeangros Liala Consoli Yves Jackson |
| author_facet | Jan-Erik Refle Julien Fakhoury Claudine Burton-Jeangros Liala Consoli Yves Jackson |
| author_sort | Jan-Erik Refle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Undocumented migrants face cumulative difficulties like precarious living and working conditions or exclusion from health services that might negatively influence their health. Little is known about the evolution of undocumented migrants’ self-reported health (SRH) and mental health after they get documented. This study aims to observe the effect of legal status regularization on SRH and mental health in a cohort of migrants undergoing regularization in Geneva, Switzerland. We evaluate SRH with the first item of the Short Form Survey (SF12) and depression as a proxy of mental health with the PHQ-9 questionnaire over four years among 387 undocumented and newly documented migrants. Using hybrid linear models, our data show that regularization has no direct effect on SRH, but has direct positive effects on mental health in a longitudinal perspective, even when controlling for competing factors. The arrival of the pandemic did not alter these effects. Migrants tend to evaluate their subjective health status more positively than the prevalence of screened depression shows. Those findings point towards better targeted policies that could reduce the burden of depression among undocumented migrants. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:28:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c24ed91585374c7ba7e5380d37a5f538 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2352-8273 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:28:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SSM: Population Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-c24ed91585374c7ba7e5380d37a5f5382023-05-19T04:45:51ZengElsevierSSM: Population Health2352-82732023-06-0122101398Impact of legal status regularization on undocumented migrants’ self-reported and mental health in SwitzerlandJan-Erik Refle0Julien Fakhoury1Claudine Burton-Jeangros2Liala Consoli3Yves Jackson4LIVES, Swiss Centre of Expertise in Life Course Research, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, SwitzerlandLIVES, Swiss Centre of Expertise in Life Course Research, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, SwitzerlandLIVES, Swiss Centre of Expertise in Life Course Research, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Institute of Sociological Research, University of Geneva, Geneva, SwitzerlandLIVES, Swiss Centre of Expertise in Life Course Research, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Institute of Sociological Research, University of Geneva, Geneva, SwitzerlandDivision of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospital and University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Corresponding author. Division of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospital and University of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle Perret Gentil 4, 1211, 14 Geneva, Switzerland.Undocumented migrants face cumulative difficulties like precarious living and working conditions or exclusion from health services that might negatively influence their health. Little is known about the evolution of undocumented migrants’ self-reported health (SRH) and mental health after they get documented. This study aims to observe the effect of legal status regularization on SRH and mental health in a cohort of migrants undergoing regularization in Geneva, Switzerland. We evaluate SRH with the first item of the Short Form Survey (SF12) and depression as a proxy of mental health with the PHQ-9 questionnaire over four years among 387 undocumented and newly documented migrants. Using hybrid linear models, our data show that regularization has no direct effect on SRH, but has direct positive effects on mental health in a longitudinal perspective, even when controlling for competing factors. The arrival of the pandemic did not alter these effects. Migrants tend to evaluate their subjective health status more positively than the prevalence of screened depression shows. Those findings point towards better targeted policies that could reduce the burden of depression among undocumented migrants.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827323000630HealthMental healthDepressionMigrantsUndocumentedRegularization |
| spellingShingle | Jan-Erik Refle Julien Fakhoury Claudine Burton-Jeangros Liala Consoli Yves Jackson Impact of legal status regularization on undocumented migrants’ self-reported and mental health in Switzerland SSM: Population Health Health Mental health Depression Migrants Undocumented Regularization |
| title | Impact of legal status regularization on undocumented migrants’ self-reported and mental health in Switzerland |
| title_full | Impact of legal status regularization on undocumented migrants’ self-reported and mental health in Switzerland |
| title_fullStr | Impact of legal status regularization on undocumented migrants’ self-reported and mental health in Switzerland |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of legal status regularization on undocumented migrants’ self-reported and mental health in Switzerland |
| title_short | Impact of legal status regularization on undocumented migrants’ self-reported and mental health in Switzerland |
| title_sort | impact of legal status regularization on undocumented migrants self reported and mental health in switzerland |
| topic | Health Mental health Depression Migrants Undocumented Regularization |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827323000630 |
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