title: Return Migration among Elderly, Chronically Ill Bosnian Refugees: Does Health Matter?
abstract: Elderly migrants constitute a considerable share of global return migration; nevertheless, literature on the health aspects of the return migration among these migrants is still scarce. This study explores the significance of return migration among elderly, chronically ill Bosnian refugees from Denmark and the role of health issues in their decision to return. It is based on semi-structured interviews with 33 elderly, chronically ill Bosnian refugees who have moved back to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 10 elderly, chronically ill Bosnian refugees who have remained in Denmark. The interviews show that physical health, in the sense of the absence of illness and easy access to necessary health-care services and medicines, was not highly prioritized when the decision was made whether or not to return. However, if health is regarded more broadly as involving more than mere physical health and the absence of illness, health did matter. Viewed as physical, social and mental well-being in line with WHO's definition of health, health was indeed one of the most important factors when the decision to return was made.
authors.affiliation: Danish Research Centre for Migration, Ethnicity and Health, Section for Health Services Research, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, Copenhagen K 1014, Denmark. Lnha@sund.ku.dk.
authors.forename: Line Neerup
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Handlos
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, Copenhagen K 1353, Denmark. Karen.fog.olwig@anthro.ku.dk.
authors.forename: Karen Fog
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Olwig
authors.affiliation: Section of Global Health, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, Copenhagen K 1014, Denmark. Iby@sund.ku.dk.
authors.forename: Ib Christian
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Bygbjerg
authors.affiliation: Center for Healthy Aging, Section for Health Services Research, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, Copenhagen K 1014, Denmark. Makk@sund.ku.dk.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kristiansen
authors.affiliation: Danish Research Centre for Migration, Ethnicity and Health, Section for Health Services Research, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, Copenhagen K 1014, Denmark. Mano@sund.ku.dk.|Section of Immigrant Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Hvidovre, Hvidovre 2650, Denmark. Mano@sund.ku.dk.
authors.forename: Marie Louise
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Norredam
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017522:Bosnia and Herzegovina; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D003718:Denmark; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D014171:Transients and Migrants
keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina; chronic illness; elderly; return migration; well-being