title: Can migration health assessments become a mechanism for global public health good?
abstract: Migrant health assessments (HAs) consist of a medical examination to assess a migrant's health status and to provide medical clearance for work or residency based on conditions defined by the destination country and/or employer. We argue that better linkages between health systems and migrant HA processors at the country level are needed to shift these from being limited as an instrument of determining non-admissibility for purposes of visa issuance, to a process that may enhance public health. The importance of providing appropriate care and follow-up of migrants who "fail" their HA and the need for global efforts to enable data-collection and research on HAs are also highlighted.
authors.affiliation: International Organization for Migration, Country Office Sri Lanka, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka. kwickramage@iom.int.
authors.forename: Kolitha
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wickramage
authors.affiliation: Migration Health Division, the International Organization for Migration, Route des Morillons 17, Geneva, 1211 CH, Switzerland. dmosca@iom.int.
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mosca
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*