Search Results (31)

Background: Climate change is intensifying extreme heat exposure in Mediterranean agricultural systems. Migrant workers engaged in outdoor fieldwork are a highly vulnerable population with limited access to resources. Crucially, there is a notable lack of data on how heat affects these workers in this specific region. Objective: This study aimed to analyze the physiological effects of high-temperature exposure by quantifying and correlating indirect indicators of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance (sodium and potassium losses, sweat, body weight, and blood pressure). Methods: An observational study was conducted over nine consecutive days involving ten agricultural participants, yielding 90 observations. Measurements of body weight, heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature, sweat loss, and sodium and potassium concentrations were taken before, during, and after daily field activity. Results: Results showed considerable interindividual variability in thermophysiological responses. Participants lost an average of 0.8 kg (range –9.1 to +3.6 kg) and produced 3.91 L of sweat (range 1.9–6.4 L), with sodium and potassium losses of 4932 mg and 646 mg, respectively. Sweat loss correlated with sodium (r = 0.414, p = 0.001) and potassium (r = 0.791, p < 0.001), and diastolic blood pressure was moderately associated with weight loss (r = 0.576, p = 0.016). Conclusions: Sweat loss was the main driver of electrolyte depletion, with marked interindividual variability. Monitoring sweat-related indicators and diastolic blood pressure could help detect dehydration risk in agricultural workers exposed to extreme heat. Targeted hydration strategies and occupational health education are essential to mitigate these risks. Full article

The literature details the healthcare needs of migrant people living with chronic illnesses and the consequent economic, social, and healthcare needs of their caregivers. Similarly, some studies have underscored the social and healthcare needs of 2SLGBTQIA+ (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex individuals, including diverse sexual and gender identities under the “+” symbol) adults living with chronic illnesses and their caregivers. This narrative review presents the context of migrant 2SLGBTQIA+ unpaid caregivers and how their intersecting identities influence their caregiving roles for family members with chronic illnesses. In this article, caregivers are defined as family members or chosen families who provide unpaid support that may last for three months or longer for people living with chronic illnesses. Most studies and policies overlook 2SLGBTQIA+ migrants who are also unpaid caregivers of individuals living with chronic illnesses, leaving them unsupported through discrimination at the intersection of racism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, and ableism, forcing them to remain vulnerable to increased emotional and physical strain. There is a presence of pervasive systemic barriers, including a lack of training and education among social and healthcare providers, about the needs of migrant 2SLGBTQIA+ unpaid caregivers. Additional challenges stem from inadequate policies and insufficient targeted resources, particularly for caregivers from marginalized racial and ethnic backgrounds. The findings of this study highlight the necessity for a call to action to address these gaps and improve support systems for these highly marginalized communities. Full article

As China’s regional development enters a critical stage of population redistribution and urban transformation, the impact of population mobility on regional demographic structures and urban functional restructuring has become increasingly prominent. Against this backdrop of accelerating Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei integration, cities of varying types have been confronted with growing complexity in demographic transitions and socioeconomic stratification during their processes of absorbing or exporting populations. This study employed microdata from the National Bureau of Statistics to construct migration flow matrices and utilized a decomposition quantification approach to explore the impact of internal migration on the population structure and quality in 13 cities within the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. The findings indicated that, while Beijing has achieved some success in population control, it overall exhibits a “large inflow and large outflow” pattern. Langfang has attracted a large number of highly educated individuals and male migrants under the spillover effect from Beijing. Shijiazhuang’s population attractiveness has increased, yet the outflow of highly educated individuals remains unmitigated. Meanwhile, the internal migrant structures in industrial cities such as Tianjin and Tangshan have undergone significant changes following the industrial transformation. Cities in the passive outflow area and agricultural transformation area have experienced siphoning effects, but they face different potential risks due to their unique characteristics. This study further enriches the understanding of the impact mechanisms underlying domestic population mobility and provides differentiated policy references for cities to reconcile their development objectives with demographic realities. Full article

As global migration continues to expand, the diversity of migrant populations increases. This includes a growing number of highly educated individuals from lower-income countries who face significant economic and mental health challenges in attempting to integrate into new communities. Despite extensive education and experience, their expertise is often unrecognized, with many resorting to unskilled labor alternatives. While substantial research exists on the immigration experiences of physicians and nurses, little is known about other professionals, such as dentists. This case study seeks to gain an in-depth understanding of the post-migration experiences of Iranian-trained dentists in Canada, identifying barriers and facilitators to their successful integration. Using a qualitative approach, this study is based on eleven interviews with dentists trained in Iran who recently immigrated to Canada. Semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom in English. A thematic analysis was performed using the 2021 Dedoose software program. Barriers to successful integration were categorized into two main themes: “socio-cultural” and “institutional” impediments. The findings show that participants faced significant challenges integrating into Canadian society. Beyond the many socio-cultural obstacles, the negative economic and mental health impacts of attempting to navigate the credential recognition system were substantial, largely due to what appears to be a systematic and institutionalized bias against foreign-trained individuals built into the credentialing system. As a result, their skills often remain underutilized, benefiting neither themselves nor their new country. Findings will inform policy and practice and propose practical recommendations that include reducing institutional barriers for credential assessment, providing mental health support, and offering financial support during assessment of international education. Full article

This study examines the intentions of foreign workers living in Okayama, Japan, to stay long-term in Japan. Utilizing a Bayesian multinomial logistic regression model, this research provides a novel analytical approach that captures parameter uncertainty and accommodates the categorical nature of migrants’ settlement intentions using primary data collected via a questionnaire survey from January to March 2024. The findings reveal that residence status, previous experience of living in Japan, and graduation from a Japanese education institution significantly influence long-term settlement intentions. In addition, respondents aged 26–35 intend to stay longer than those of other ages, and those from less developed countries, such as Myanmar and Vietnam, intend to stay longer than those from China. Conversely, highly educated migrants express lower settlement intentions, suggesting a potential loss of skilled foreign labor in Japan. Notably, migrants in the Technical Intern Training Program are more likely to stay longer than those with other residence statuses, such as Highly Skilled Professional. In contrast, workers with higher education levels tend to have less intention to stay long-term, indicating a high probability of Japan losing educated foreign labor in the future. These findings contribute to understanding the dynamics of migrant workers in Japan, which is crucial for creating policies for foreign workers that can attract and support long-term settlement. These findings have important implications for policy, particularly in enhancing community integration, reducing workplace discrimination, and designing residence pathways that support long-term retention. Full article

In the context of the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy in China, returning rural migrant workers are bound to have a certain impact on the rural economy, and land is a very important factor in the agricultural economy. Using data from the 2018 China Labor Dynamic Survey (CLDS), this study examines how migrant workers’ return behaviors influence farmland transfer-in. To address potential endogeneity, the analysis employs the Probit model, instrumental variable methods, and propensity score matching. The findings reveal that returning migrant workers significantly promote farmland transfer-in. Households with returning migrant workers exhibit stronger demands for land transfer-in and tend to operate farmland on a larger scale. Furthermore, returning migrant workers drive farmland expansion through mechanization labor substitution, enhanced access to agricultural loans, and reduced non-farm participation. Additionally, returning migrant workers who are highly educated and younger play a particularly influential role, underscoring the heterogeneous impacts across different migrant groups. This study provides empirical evidence for rural revitalization policies in China by systematically analyzing the effect of returning migrant workers in promoting land transfer-in and the path of influence on farmland scale. Full article

Chinese cities have made significant progress in fostering low-carbon societies and piloting a variety of low-carbon measures. Nonetheless, the effective implementation of these initiatives and the long-term upkeep of related amenities rely heavily on resident support. The existing studies provide limited insight into how local residents perceive and endorse different types of low-carbon measures, which often involve varying trade-offs. Addressing this gap, the present study surveyed the willingness to pay (WTP) of residents in Hangzhou—an early adopter of low-carbon practices in China—across five representative low-carbon measures. Survey data were collected from 13 distinct residential neighborhoods. The results indicate that Hangzhou residents are more inclined to financially support measures offering direct personal benefits compared to those benefiting the collective good, with this tendency being notably pronounced among highly educated individuals. Further findings include the following: (1) respondents aware of ongoing low-carbon measures were more willing to pay for them; (2) male respondents, recent migrants (within the past five years), high-income groups, and residents in aging communities tended to contribute higher amounts; (3) providing detailed information on carbon mitigation effects markedly increased both the likelihood and the magnitude of WTP; (4) the promotion of new energy vehicles (NEVs) remains contentious, particularly between NEV owners and gasoline vehicle owners. These findings highlight the need for targeted policies and educational programs to strengthen public awareness and support for low-carbon interventions, thereby advancing sustainability in fast-growing urban centers like Hangzhou. Overall, these findings provide key insights for the formulation of low-carbon city policies and sustainable urban planning, emphasizing the global importance of local socioeconomic dynamics and offering a valuable reference for cities worldwide seeking to advance sustainability transitions and meet international climate targets. Full article

Pedagogical translanguaging (PTL) refers to the use of educational techniques that incorporate learners’ entire linguistic repertoire. Recent studies indicate that PTL is efficient in the teaching of morphological awareness to bilingual children. The question remains whether it can be successfully applied in the highly specific context of adult forced migrants’ classrooms. This study describes a new protocol developed within the framework of PTL to teach derivational morphology to L2 French and Greek adults. We used questionnaires to quantitatively and qualitatively assess the feasibility of the protocol, teachers’ and learners’ attitudes, and learners’ emotions in the PTL lesson. A total of 141 migrant learners (79 forced migrants) and 13 teachers were involved in 23 2 h lessons. Teachers and learners gave high overall evaluations of the feasibility of the PTL protocol and of their pleasure from teaching and learning using PTL tools. Learners’ ease of learning and learning benefits were positively influenced by their perception of the proximity between their L1 and L2. Learners reported higher positive emotions and lower negative emotions during the PTL lesson, while forced migrants showed more hope and shame overall than voluntary migrants, as well as gained more benefits from PTL due to enjoyment. These findings suggest that the use of pedagogical translanguaging in migrants’ classrooms is feasible and develops positive attitudes and emotions, which are more pronounced in forced migrants. Full article

Introduction: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to occur at high levels. According to the WHO, each year there are an estimated 374 million new infections with syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis. STIs are associated with an increased risk of acquiring HIV infection. Migrants are reportedly highly affected by STIs. Objectives: This study aims to characterize factors associated with STIs in a population of HIV-positive migrants living in Portugal. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional observational study of 265 newly diagnosed HIV-1 positive migrants, who were defined as individuals born outside Portugal. This group of people were part of the BESTHOPE study that was developed in 17 Portuguese hospitals between September 2014 and December 2019, and included information collected through sociodemographic and behavioral questionnaires filled in by the migrant patients, clinical questionnaires filled in by the clinicians and HIV-1 genomic sequences generated through resistance testing (Sanger sequencing). A multivariable statistical analysis was used to analyze the association between sociodemographic characteristics, sexual behaviors, HIV testing and sexual infections. Results: Most HIV-1 positive individuals included in the study were men (66.8%) and aged between 25 and 44 years old (59.9%). Men had a higher proportion of STIs when compared to women (40.4% vs. 14.0%) and the majority of men reported homosexual contacts (52.0%). Most men reported having had two or more occasional sexual partners in the previous year (88.8%) and 50.9% reported always using condoms with occasional partners, while 13.2% never used it. For regular partners, only 29.5% of the women reported using condoms, compared to 47.3% of men. Other risk behaviors for acquiring HIV, such as tattooing and performing invasive medical procedures, were more prevalent in men (38.0% and 46.2%, respectively), when compared to women (30.4% and 45.1% respectively) and 4.7% of men reported having already shared injectable materials, with no data for comparison in the case for women. Additionally, 23.9% of women reported having had a blood transfusion while only 10.3% of men reported having had this medical procedure. Meanwhile, 30.9% of the individuals reported having been diagnosed with some type of STI in the last 12 months. In addition, 43.3% of individuals that answered a question about hepatitis reported to be infected with hepatitis B, while 13.0% reported having hepatitis C infection. According to the multivariable analysis, the only transmission route was significantly associated with reports of previous STI infection: men who have sex with men (MSM) were 70% more likely to have been diagnosed with an STI in the past 12 months compared to the heterosexual route. Conclusion: HIV-1 infected men were more likely to report previous STIs than women. On the other hand, most migrant women had a regular sexual partner and never or only sometimes used condoms. This somewhat discrepant findings suggest that gender inequalities may make women unable to negotiate safe sexual practices, resulting in increased susceptibility to infection. However, since migrant women report less STIs, we cannot exclude that these STIs may remain undiagnosed. The implementation of safer sex awareness campaigns for condom use and screening for STIs in women is crucial. On the other hand, health education campaigns for STI knowledge need to be implemented for both MSM and women and their partners. Full article

This article explores the barriers and the strategies of a group of highly educated foreign women to obtain a job-education matching situation in the Basque Country (Spain) where they all permanently settled following a binational heterosexual marriage. Drawing on 21 biographical interviews with women from Latin America and Europe, we examine new perspectives on the complexity and fluidity between their professional pathways and family projects. For that, we apply an intersectional lens to analyse their life experience. Our results show that respondents involved in a feminised labour market (education and health) have fewer difficulties to find a job-education match. In other cases, becoming self-employed is a way to gain independence and flexibility by running an open market-oriented business. Interviewees identified language, lack of personal networks, family reconciliation, traditional gender roles and the transferring of cultural capital as the main barriers for their incorporation into the labour market. The study finds that marriage support is not enough to overcome the barriers. We argue that for a more comprehensive understanding of labour integration of highly educated migrant women, motivation and agency, linked to family support, should be considered factors to cope with structural inequalities. Full article

Highly-skilled migrants and refugees finding employment in low-skill vocations, despite professional qualifications and educational backgrounds, has become a global tendency, mainly due to the language barrier. Employment prospects for displaced communities are mostly decided by their knowledge of the sublanguage of the vocational domain they are interested in working. Common vocational domains include agriculture, cooking, crafting, construction, and hospitality. The increasing amount of user-generated content in wikis and social networks provides a valuable source of data for data mining, natural language processing, and machine learning applications. This paper extends the contribution of the authors’ previous research on automatic vocational domain identification by further analyzing the results of machine learning experiments with a domain-specific textual data set while considering two research directions: a. prediction analysis and b. data balancing. Wrong prediction analysis and the features that contributed to misclassification, along with correct prediction analysis and the features that were the most dominant, contributed to the identification of a primary set of terms for the vocational domains. Data balancing techniques were applied on the data set to observe their impact on the performance of the classification model. A novel four-step methodology was proposed in this paper for the first time, which consists of successive applications of SMOTE oversampling on imbalanced data. Data oversampling obtained better results than data undersampling in imbalanced data sets, while hybrid approaches performed reasonably well. Full article

Many developed countries admit internationally educated physicians (IEPs) as highly skilled migrants. The majority of IEPs arrive with the intention of becoming licensed physicians to no avail, resulting in underemployment and underutilization of this highly skilled group of people. Alternative careers in the health and wellness sector provide IEPs opportunities to use their skills and reclaim their lost professional identity; however, this path also includes great challenges. In this study, we determined factors that affect IEPs’ decisions regarding their choice of alternative jobs. We conducted eight focus groups with 42 IEPs in Canada. Factors affecting IEPs’ career decisions were related to their individual situations and tangible aspects of career exploration, including resources and skills. A number of factors were associated with IEPs’ personal interests and goals, such as a passion for a particular career, which also varied across participants. Overall, IEPs interested in alternative careers took an adaptive approach, largely influenced by the need to earn a living in a foreign country and accommodate family needs and responsibilities. Full article

The influence of environmental quality on the quality of urban life and on migration decisions is an important research issue in urban economics and environmental economics. Using the 2012–2014 China Labor Dynamics Survey data (CLDS), this paper uses a conditional logit model (CLM) and Instrumental Variable (IV) estimation to examine the impact of air pollution on the migrant migration decision. We find that air pollution significantly negatively impacts the migration decisions of migrants. Specifically, if the PM2.5 level of a city increases by 10 μg/m³, the probability of migrants flowing into the city will be significantly reduced by 21.2%. It shows that migrants choose to flow into cities with better spatial quality to reduce the risk of exposure to air pollution. After controlling for the characteristics of the outflow and the reasons for the flow, the impact of air pollution on migrants’ migration decisions remains robust. Heterogeneity analysis shows that middle-aged, male, married, and highly educated migrants are more sensitive to air pollution. This paper enriches the research on air pollution and labor mobility at the micro level and provides empirical evidence for policymaking related to environmental governance and labor mobility in a low-carbon society. Full article

Introduction: The number of people with migrant status living in Europe is proliferating. Most of the refugees in Italy come from war zones, and many of them denounce having been victims of persecutory acts in their country of origin. Highly cultured migrant populations have shown better results and oral health behaviour than those who were poorly cultured. The PROTECT project aimed to build a network for the early management of head and neck pathologies among refugees and migrants, promoting the dissemination of correct information about the prevention and treatment of these pathologies. Materials and methods: A national cross-sectional study among the refugees and migrant population in the Lazio region, Italy, from February 2018 to September 2021 was performed. The oral health of 3023 participants was investigated within a network of 56 reception centres and cultural associations. Data collected via an oral health survey questionnaire gathered information on participants’ demographic factors, migration status and dental behaviours and clinical examinations of the participants with the help of mouth mirrors, periodontal probes and artificial light. Results: The mean age was 31.6 ± 13.1, and among all the subjects, 2058 were male (68.1%) and 965 were women (41.9%). Most participants were born in Nigeria, followed by Bangladesh, Pakistan, Somalia, Mali and Senegal. The overall oral pain prevalence was 48.2%. The prevalence of patients claiming poor oral hygiene was 32.4%; 36.2% of the subjects consumed high amounts of sugar; and 26.7% saw their dentist for a check-up in the last year. At the clinical examination, 68.9% of patients had caries experience (considering decay of deciduous teeth, and caries of permanent teeth and teeth with fillings), with 32.2% showing pulpal involvement. Low levels of oral hygiene were also found at the clinical examination, with 46.5% of patients presenting plaque and calculus. The trend of the DMFT index was found to be 5.41. Good periodontal health (CPI = 0) was present in approximately 33.5% of patients. The CPI = 1 index reported bleeding from gingivitis in 37% of patients; tartar was found in 27% of patients (CPI = 2). The percentage of patients with CPI = 3 was 3.6%. Just over half (52.2%) of the migrants examined had malocclusion, and only 0.7% had a malocclusion in treatment. Conclusions: The goal to be achieved is to develop education and prevention programs for head–neck diseases, and perhaps even more. The first step towards this goal can be removing the obstacles migrants encounter in accessing health care. Full article

Immigrants are often pressed to show how they will contribute to a host country, thus proving through their conditions of entry and human capital whether they will be perceived as an asset or burden, and this is juxtaposed with the host country’s institutions offering an improved quality of life, mainly through employment. Seeking employment is often a key factor to be economically assimilated, and in the case of highly educated Turkish migrants, the opportunity to reclaim their previous professional and quality of life statuses. Based on qualitative research, we have examined the experiences of highly educated Turkish people (n = 42) in the recently forced migrant population. Following events including terrorism and the coup on 15 July 2016, Türkiye experienced the highest forced migration in her history. With exiled Turkish migrants, the forced aspect of their migration prompts them to seek a host country that provides safety, and they are also driven to transfer their educational degrees and professional credentials. However, changing careers to become educated and certified in new fields takes time and resources, contributing to a fluctuating economic status and loss of well-being. Once this is regained, their economic situation is improved, but there is still the lost time from the immigration and transfer period. Thus, the process has positive and negative components, but understanding this nuanced process provides opportunities for policy reform that can shorten the time of re-education, increase employability, and support well-being. Full article