title: Deported Mexican migrants: health status and access to care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE To describe the health status and access to care of forced-return Mexican migrants deported through the Mexico-United States border and to compare it with the situation of voluntary-return migrants. METHODS Secondary data analysis from the Survey on Migration in Mexico's Northern Border from 2012. This is a continuous survey, designed to describe migration flows between Mexico and the United States, with a mobile-population sampling design. We analyzed indicators of health and access to care among deported migrants, and compare them with voluntary-return migrants. Our analysis sample included 2,680 voluntary-return migrants, and 6,862 deportees. We employ an ordinal multiple logistic regression model, to compare the adjusted odds of having worst self-reported health between the studied groups. RESULTS As compared to voluntary-return migrants, deportees were less likely to have medical insurance in the United States (OR = 0.05; 95%CI 0.04;0.06). In the regression model a poorer self-perceived health was found to be associated with having been deported (OR = 1.71, 95%CI 1.52;1.92), as well as age (OR = 1.03, 95%CI 1.02;1.03) and years of education (OR = 0.94 95%CI 0.93;0.95). CONCLUSIONS According to our results, deportees had less access to care while in the United States, as compared with voluntary-return migrants. Our results also showed an independent and statistically significant association between deportation and having poorer self-perceived health. To promote the health and access to care of deported Mexican migrants coming back from the United States, new health and social policies are required.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Evaluación y Encuestas, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Mor, México.
authors.forename: Julián Alfredo
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Fernández-Niño
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Estudios de Población, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Tijuana, Baja California, México.
authors.forename: Carlos Jacobo
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Ramírez-Valdés
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Estudios de Población, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Tijuana, Baja California, México.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cerecero-Garcia
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Estudios de Población, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Tijuana, Baja California, México.
authors.forename: Ietza
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bojorquez-Chapela
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011640:Public Policy; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult