Migration and Health

We invite you to join us Friday Oct 6 1.30-3pm in the Research Commons Room 350A for our next reading discussion on Migration and Health. In this session we will be discussing and critiquing one of our group members, Kelly Yotebieng, recently published agenda paper on urban migration and health – with a focus on asylum seekers and refugees):

 “Health, well-being, and urban refugees and asylum seekers: an agenda paper.”

Health and well-being have been historically uncommon areas of focus in studies of forced migration within the social sciences, where the focus has more often been focused broadly on identity, liminality, and social suffering. Urban refugees have also been largely excluded from the narrative. Yet, urban refugees represent the majority of the worlds refugees, which means we are effectively excluding the majority of the refugee experience from our research. Health is often a central marker of inequality and marginalization. Understanding the entanglement of forced migration to urban areas and health bears enormous potential for policy and practice. The papers we are discussing during this meeting will outline what we know, and set an agenda for the study of urban refugee health. Many of the areas we cover will also bear resonance for others studying different types of migration.

If you are interested in this topic, you might read:

  • Castaneda, H., Holmes, S. M., Madrigal, D. S., Young, M. D., Beyeler, N., & Quesada, J. (2015). Immigration as a Social Determinant of Health. Annual Review of Public Health36, 375–92. http://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182419
  • Venkataramani, A.S., Shah, S.J., O’Brien, R.; Kawachi, I., & Tsai, A.C. (2017). Health consequences of the US Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration programme: a quasi-experimental study. Lancet Public Health, 2: e175-181.

This event is free and open to all. Refreshments and cookies will be provided. If you plan to join us, please RSVP by Oct 4 by emailing migrationstudiesworkinggroup@gmail.com.