Migrant Child Health: The Role of Social, Cultural, and Economic Factors
Author: Ruducha, Jenny MPH, Dr.
Date Published: 1994
This report examines differences in measures of health status and health services utilization among 386 migrant children (ages 6 months through 5 years) from 253 households. Data were collected from Delmarva Rural Ministries (a migrant health center than maintains three satellite sites serving a 10-county area in Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland), East Coast Migrant Head Start Centers, state and locally funded school programs, and the Eastern Shore Health Department in Virginia. Data from a national health survey that studied nonmigrant children were used to compare the health status of migrants and nonmigrants in the same ethnic groups. Section II highlights differences between migrants and nonmigrants from different ethnic groups in family composition, family size, income, median education, literacy, and health insurance. Ethnic and racial groups include Mexican Americans, African Americans, Haitians, and Whites. Section III highlights health and health services utilization differences between children of migrant farmworkers and nonmigrants of the same ethnic groups and covers birth weight, perceived health status, disability and bed-disability days, acute conditions, annual contact with a health provider, mean number of health care visits, and mean number of inadequate time intervals for preventive care. Section IV presents migrant child-specific health data based on clinical diagnoses from encounters in migrant clinics and migrant camps. A description of the measurement of health conditions is followed by a presentation of ethnic differences in health outcomes and the effect of social factors on their distribution. Final sections discuss factors affecting access to health care and service utilization, and highlight findings relevant to clinical practice, health education, and public policy.
Date Published: 1994
This report examines differences in measures of health status and health services utilization among 386 migrant children (ages 6 months through 5 years) from 253 households. Data were collected from Delmarva Rural Ministries (a migrant health center than maintains three satellite sites serving a 10-county area in Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland), East Coast Migrant Head Start Centers, state and locally funded school programs, and the Eastern Shore Health Department in Virginia. Data from a national health survey that studied nonmigrant children were used to compare the health status of migrants and nonmigrants in the same ethnic groups. Section II highlights differences between migrants and nonmigrants from different ethnic groups in family composition, family size, income, median education, literacy, and health insurance. Ethnic and racial groups include Mexican Americans, African Americans, Haitians, and Whites. Section III highlights health and health services utilization differences between children of migrant farmworkers and nonmigrants of the same ethnic groups and covers birth weight, perceived health status, disability and bed-disability days, acute conditions, annual contact with a health provider, mean number of health care visits, and mean number of inadequate time intervals for preventive care. Section IV presents migrant child-specific health data based on clinical diagnoses from encounters in migrant clinics and migrant camps. A description of the measurement of health conditions is followed by a presentation of ethnic differences in health outcomes and the effect of social factors on their distribution. Final sections discuss factors affecting access to health care and service utilization, and highlight findings relevant to clinical practice, health education, and public policy.
