Forum chair Bente Moen opened the 10th anniversary celebration underscoring successful collaboration with long-exiting and recent partners, such as GLOBVAC and NRSGH. In line with the international focus and a priority area for Forum, the programme of the seminar was dedicated to migration health research.
Bernadette Kumar, director of the Norwegian Centre for Minority Health Research (NAKMI), a research member of the UCL- Lancet commission on Migration and Health 2016-2018 and a staunch advocate for the health needs of migrants and minorities outlined the scope and importance of researching migration health in Norway. “Migration health,” said Dr. Kumar, “is an integral part of global health.” Migration health research falls between the cracks between researching national populations and disease. It is necessary to close the gaps of knowledge by adapting research strategies to focus on migrants in order to meet the needs of ethnic minority groups, advocate for good policy practice and improve the healthcare system.
To follow-on from the Norwegian National Strategy for Immigrant Health 2013-2017 and in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goal 17, Dr. Kumar was optimistic about the increasing amount of research and evidence. She suggested a longitudinal focus on migration, which covers the entire migration journey, involving the health-system users to raise the potential for improving health care, and intervention studies to achieve actual change.
Dr. Harald Siem, from NAKMI and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health gave a historic perspective on migration to and from Norway drawing on significant events starting with ancient history and migration out of Africa, population movement of the Roman Empire and Germanic tribes; the near past with Norwegian emigration to the US, Canada and Australia; and the present, talking about the movement of asylum seekers and refugees across Europe.
Gro Saltnes Lopez, from the Department of Minority Health and Rehabilitation gave a talk on the rights to Access National Health Services for refugees and asylum seekers.
Dr. Esperanza Diaz from the Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Bergen presented her research on care delivery and utilization within migrant and local populations in Norway. Breaking through some popular misconceptions, Dr. Diaz showed that migrants tend to have a lower prevalence of multi-morbidity compared to local Norwegians, and that they utilize primary care services and take medications less often than Norwegians. Her well-published research1 shines a light on general practice and emergency room utilization among migrants stratified by gender, reason for migration and country of origin. Dr. Diaz underlined the importance of performing research at the level of population, health services and the health system to meet the health needs of everyone in Norway.
Christine Jacobsen, an anthropologist and migration scholar from the Centre for Women’s and Gender Research presented a different perspective of the system and access to medical services for undocumented or “irregular” migrants in France. Crossing borders may be difficult, but crossing barriers to access the healthcare system is a long-lasting challenge for many migrants. Professor Jacobsen described the situation of undocumented Tunisian migrants in France, who find themselves trapped in the bureaucratic and financial loop in order to gain access to healthcare. She compared the “full access” and the “partial access” health systems that belong to France and Norway, respectively. Professor Jacobsen then introduced the concept of temporalities of irregular migration introducing a thought-provoking concept of the connection between waiting and power. Drawing on examples from both Norway and France she demonstrated that the reality of uncertainty, prolonged waiting periods to gain access to healthcare and the migration process add another dimension to the challenging experience of many undocumented migrants.
The seminar concluded with a lively debate about the path forward for the Norwegian Forum for Global Health Research, including strengthening collaborations with the NRSGH and building opportunities for global health research.
Read more about the Norwegian Forum for Global Health Research: report.
1. Primary healthcare usage and morbidity among immigrant children compared with non-immigrant children: a population-based study in Norway Lars T Fadnes, Kathy Ainul Møen, Esperanza Diaz; BMJ Open. 2016; 6(10): e012101.
Shifting migrant health care away from an agenda of conflicts and problems toward solutions Esperanza Diaz, Hans Thulesius, Oliver Razum; Scand J Prim Health Care. 2016 Sep; 34(3): 213–214.
Multimorbidity and Its Patterns according to Immigrant Origin. A Nationwide Register-Based Study in Norway Esperanza Diaz, Beatriz Poblador-Pou, Luis-Andrés Gimeno-Feliu, Amaia Calderón-Larrañaga, Bernadette N. Kumar, Alexandra Prados-Torres; PLoS One. 2015; 10(12): e0145233.
Patterns of pharmaceutical use for immigrants to Spain and Norway: a comparative study of prescription databases in two European countries Luis Andres Gimeno-Feliu, Amaia Calderón-Larrañaga, Alexandra Prados-Torres, Concha Revilla-López, Esperanza Diaz; Int J Equity Health. 2016; 15: 32.
Frequent attenders in general practice and immigrant status in Norway: A nationwide cross-sectional study Esperanza Diaz, Luis-Andrés Gimeno-Feliu, Amaia Calderón-Larrañaga, Alexandra Prados-Torres; Scand J Prim Health Care. 2014 Dec; 32(4): 232–240.
Differential utilization of primary health care services among older immigrants and Norwegians: a register-based comparative study in Norway Esperanza Diaz, Bernadette N Kumar; BMC Health Serv Res. 2014; 14: 623.
Immigrants’ use of primary health care services for mental health problems Melanie Straiton, Anne Reneflot, Esperanza Diaz; BMC Health Serv Res. 2014; 14: 341.
Immigrants’ use of emergency primary health care in Norway: a registry-based observational study Hogne Sandvik, Steinar Hunskaar, Esperanza Diaz; BMC Health Serv Res. 2012; 12: 308.
Clinical practice patterns among native and immigrant doctors doing out-of-hours work in Norway: a registry-based observational study Hogne Sandvik, Steinar Hunskaar, Esperanza Diaz; BMJ Open. 2012; 2(4): e001153.