Migration does not enlarge inequalities in health between rich and poor neighbourhoods in The Netherlands

We estimate to what extent migration contributes to inequalities in health between rich and poor neighbourhoods in The Netherlands. We used a sample from the survey WoonOnderzoek Nederland 2006. Using multilevel logistic regression analyses, we assessed the magnitude of health differences between po...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health & place 2011-07, Vol.17 (4), p.988-995
Main Authors: Jongeneel-Grimen, Birthe, Droomers, Mariël, Stronks, Karien, Kunst, Anton E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Confidence Intervals
Emigration and Immigration
Female
Health
Health inequalities
Health inequality
Health Status Disparities
Health technology assessment
Humans
Inequality
Male
Middle Aged
Migration
Morbidity
Neighbourhoods
Netherlands
Odds Ratio
Regression analysis
Residence Characteristics
Selective migration
Small areas
Social Class
Social inequality
Sociodemographic aspects
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomic status
The Netherlands
Young Adult
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We estimate to what extent migration contributes to inequalities in health between rich and poor neighbourhoods in The Netherlands. We used a sample from the survey WoonOnderzoek Nederland 2006. Using multilevel logistic regression analyses, we assessed the magnitude of health differences between poor vs. rich areas for the migrant and total population. Next, we compared the health of migrants to non-migrant populations and we assessed the role of sociodemographic characteristics. For most health indicators, area inequalities in health were much smaller in the migrant population than in the total population. The health of migrants was generally in-between the health of non-migrants who lived in areas of origin and destination. The differences in health with the population in the areas of origin were almost completely explained by sociodemographic characteristics. Health is related to risk of migration between poor and rich areas, mostly through sociodemographic selection instead of a direct effect of health. Despite the relationship with health, migration does not enlarge inequalities in health between poor and rich neighbourhoods but possibly attenuates the health differences.
ISSN:1353-8292
1873-2054
DOI:10.1016/j.healthplace.2011.03.008