title: Educational mismatch and health status among foreign-born workers in Sweden.
abstract: Foreign-born workers have been shown to experience poorer working conditions than native-born workers. Yet relationships between health and educational mismatch have been largely overlooked among foreign-born workers. This study uses objective and self-reported measures of educational mismatch to compare the prevalence of educational mismatch among native (n = 2359) and foreign-born (n = 1789) workers in Sweden and to examine associations between educational mismatch and poor self-rated health. Findings from weighted multivariate logistic regression which controlled for social position and individual-level demographic characteristics suggested that over-educated foreign-born workers had greater odds ratios for poor-self rated health compared to native-born matched workers. This association was particularly evident among men (OR = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.04-4.39) and women (OR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.12-4.03) from countries outside of Western Europe, North America, and Australia/New Zealand. Associations between under-education and poor-self rated health were also found among women from countries outside of Western Europe, North America, and Australia/New Zealand (OR = 2.02, 95% CI: 1.27-3.18). These findings suggest that educational mismatch may be an important work-related social determinant of health among foreign-born workers. Future studies are needed to examine the effects of long-term versus short-term states of educational mismatch on health and to study relationships over time.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Stockholm University, Karolinska Institutet, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: andrea.dunlavy@chess.su.se.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Dunlavy
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Stockholm University, Karolinska Institutet, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: anthony.garcy@chess.su.se.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Garcy
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Stockholm University, Karolinska Institutet, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: mikael.rostila@chess.su.se.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rostila
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia / Q000208:ethnology; D004522:Educational Status; D005060:Europe / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009520:New Zealand / Q000208:ethnology; D009656:North America / Q000208:ethnology; D057566:Self Report; D017678:Sex Distribution; D064890:Social Determinants of Health; D013548:Sweden; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Employment; Health inequalities; Immigrant health; Over-education; Sweden; Under-education