The Health Of Newcomers

Immigration and health care are hotly debated and contentious issues. Policies that relate to both issues—to the health of newcomers—often reflect misimpressions about immigrants, and their impact on health care systems. Despite the fact that immigrants are typically younger and healthier than natives, and that many immigrants play a vital role as care-givers in their new lands, native citizens are often reluctant to extend basic health care to immigrants, choosing instead to let them suffer, to let them die prematurely, or to expedite their return to their home lands. Likewise, many nations turn against immigrants when epidemics such as Ebola strike, under the false belief that native populations can be kept well only if immigrants are kept out. In The Health of Newcomers, Patricia Illingworth and Wendy E. Parmet demonstrate how shortsighted and dangerous it is to craft health policy on the basis of ethnocentrism and xenophobia. Because health is a global public good and people benefit from the health of neighbor and stranger alike, it is in everyone’s interest to ensure the health of all. Drawing on rigorous legal and ethical arguments and empirical studies, as well as deeply personal stories of immigrant struggles, Illingworth and Parmet make the compelling case that global phenomena such as poverty, the medical brain drain, organ tourism, and climate change ought to inform the health policy we craft for newcomers and natives alike.

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.

From an award-winning journalist comes a fascinating exploration of the life-enhancing customs that immigrant groups have brought with them to the U.S. and of how Americans can improve their lives by adapting them.

Voluntary migrants to Canada are generally healthier than the average Canadian, but after ten years in the country they report poorer health and higher rates of chronic disease than those born here. Troublingly, women — particularly those from non-European countries — experience the most precipitous decline in health. What contributes to this deterioration, and how can its effects be mitigated? Engendering Migrant Health brings together researchers from across Canada to address the intersections of gender, immigration, and health in the lives of new Canadians. Focusing on the context of Canadian policy and society, the contributors illuminate migrants' testimonies of struggle, resistance, and solidarity as they negotiate a place for themselves in a new country. Topics range from the difficulties of Francophone refugees and the changing roles of fathers, to the experiences of queer newcomers and the importance of social unity to communal and individual health.

This book addresses the causes and effects of nutrient deficiencies along the cell-to-communities continuum. The book is primarily concerned with a lack or deficiency of one or more micro- or macronutrients in connection with malnutrition, under nutrition, and starvation. Embedded within the deficiency states is acute restriction whereby food is withdrawn completely for short periods, as when individuals are adhering to religious requirements or undergoing surgical procedures. Further downstream is the consumption of a fraction of the normal diet, as when individuals are dieting or when there is restriction in the amount or variety of food available. The causes of such reductions in dietary intake are varied and also include the social context of poverty, financial limitations, and famine. Refugees and displaced persons may also be vulnerable to under nutrition or total starvation. Diseases may also impact on the total food consumed, such as when there are physical impediments (intestinal obstruction or dysphagia) or anorexia (induced by organic disease or as a disease process per se, ie, anorexia nervosa). This book, organized as approximately 125 chapters in 17 major sections, covers the variable manifestations of dietary restrictions on cells, whole organs, the individual, and societies.

Human migration is a global phenomenon and is on the increase. It occurs as a result of 'push' factors (asylum, natural disaster), or as a result of 'pull' factors (seeking economic or educational improvement). Whatever the cause of the relocation, the outcome requires individuals to adjust to their new surroundings and cope with the stresses involved, and as a result, there is considerable potential for disruption to mental health. This volume explores all aspects of migration, on all scales, and its effect on mental health. It covers migration in the widest sense and does not limit itself to refugee studies. It covers issues specific to the elderly and the young, as well as providing practical tips for clinicians on how to improve their own cultural competence in the work setting. The book will be of interest to all mental health professionals and those involved in establishing health and social policy.

This book provides a framework to guide mental health providers who work with refugees and immigrants. Nearly 70 million people today are refugees or forcibly-displaced migrants. More than half of them are children suffering from the effects of dislocation and violence. The authors describe the unique needs and challenges of serving these populations, and offer concrete steps for providing evidence-based, culturally-responsive care. Using the socioecological model, the authors conceptualize the developing child as living within concentric circles that include family, school, neighborhood, and society, embedded within a cultural context. Mental health providers identify and provide targeted support to combat disruptions within any or all of these ecological layers. Chapters examine the complex ways in which culture impacts the refugee experience, barriers to engagement in mental health practice and strategies for overcoming them, assessment, collaborative and integrated mental health interventions, and efforts to increase resilience in children, families, and communities. The book is an essential guide for mental health providers, and all who seek to help children in need.