Migração internacional e saúde de colombianos em diferentes contextos de recepção

Abstract

Health differentials between migrants and natives, from the origin country or from the destination country, are found in a multitude of contexts around the world. Two main hypotheses are evoked by the literature to explain these differentials: The Healthy Migrant Hypothesis (healthier individuals have a greater propensity to migrate) and The Salmon Bias Hypothesis (migrants with a deteriorated health condition tend to return to their country of origin). Besides the influence of health on the propensity to migrate and return, many studies suggest that cultural and structural effects such as the assimilation of health habits and access to healthcare in the country of destination, also influence the health of migrants. Despite the contributions made by these studies, three gaps still persist in the literature on international migration and health: i) the focus solely on one destination country, which limits comparisons of the contextual effects on the main hypotheses under study; ii) the few studies dedicated to the comparison between migrants and natives that remained in the country of origin; and iii) the lack of studies on the relationship between health and South-American migration, in particular Colombian migration, despite their importance in contemporary migration dynamics, specially to the United States and Europe. In order to partially fulfill these gaps, our work analyses the relationship between migration and health among Colombians under two hypotheses – The Healthy Migrant and The Salmon Bias – and the role of the cultural and structural effects in two distinct destination contexts – The United States and Spain – for three groups of Colombians: natives who never migrated, emigrants and returned migrants. Based on data from the Latin American Migration Project (LAMP), we found some evidence coherent with the Healthy Migrant and Salmon Bias Hypotheses. We also found evidence for differentiated effects of the Healthy Migrant and the Salmon Bias Hypotheses according to the context of reception: health selectivity is greater for migrants to Spain, while the chance of return due to the migrant’s health condition is stronger for Colombians that settled in the United States. This highlights the importance of cultural and structural effects and the potential role played by migration networks on the determination of these hypotheses.