Description
Introduction:
Migration from Latin America is driven by violence and economic insecurity within the region. With migration from Latin America increasing, Médicos Sin Fronteras (MSF) has developed the Migration Health Tool to investigate the health, sociodemographic, and migratory routes of People on the Move (PoM).
Objective: To understand the health conditions and health-seeking behavior of PoM during their journey.
Methods:
Data was collected from 2,121 PoM between June 2022 to December 2022 from the following cities: Tegucigalpa, Danlí, and Trojes (Honduras); Tecun Uman (Guatemala); and Ciudad de Mexico, Tapachula, and Reynosa (Mexico). A non-probability sampling approach where a daily number of interviews equal to 25% of PoM observed by MSF were targeted for enrollment. Tablets with the RedCap v21.2.0 were used for data collection.
Results:
Demographics:
55% of participants were male and the mean (SD) age of PoM was 31 (9). Most PoM were traveling with at least one family member (67%) and 63% of PoM were traveling with at least one child under 12yrs. PoM began their journey from 19 different countries with the top 3 countries representing 74% of all surveyed PoM (Venezuela (53%), Honduras (14%), and Mexico (7%)). While 15% of PoM identified as indigenous, percentages of indigenous PoM were higher than average in: Mexico (45%), Ecuador (30%), Guatemala (28%), and Honduras (20%). 7% of the population was homosexual or transgender.
Migration:
54% of PoM left their country of birth in 2022. The year PoM began their migration depended significantly on their country of birth. Most Haitians left their country of birth in 2014, while most Venezuelans left their country between 2016 and 2019. 66% of the respondents reported leaving for economic reasons whereas 36% migrated because of violence. 86% of the respondents reported the US as their destination and 82 % of PoM intended to apply for legal status at their destination.
Health Status:
General health conditions of PoM included: Respiratory issues (27%), Diarrhea (8%), and Skin diseases (5%). PoM from Ecuador (61%), Venezuela (56%), and Colombia (43%) were the most likely to report having one or more health issues. 44% of PoM had their yellow fever vaccination and 40% had their measles vaccine. 90.3% had at least one COVID-19 vaccination. 34% of PoM reported at least one NCD. The most prevalent NCDs were: Hypertension (11%), Asthma (10%), and High Cholesterol (8%). Not having symptoms and not being able to afford medication were the main reasons for not taking NCD medication. Only 5%of PoM were currently pregnant and 14% (103) had a pregnancy within the last year. Of the 972 PoM who reported health problems, 464 (48%) sought healthcare. Of those who sought healthcare 87% received it.
Discussion:
PoM experience a unique set of challenges during their journey. Violence was second to employment as a driver for PoM. Women were more likely to travel with family members and children under 12 than men, which could pose additional health challenges. One-third of PoM reported at least one NCD, prompting greater focus on providing NCD medication for PoM.
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