European immigrant health policies, immigrants' health, and immigrants' access to healthcare

Abstract

Objective: Evidence indicates presence of immigrant health disparities in the European Union (EU) and the United States (US). We examined the association between immigrant health policies and the gap in health status, unmet needs and service use between immigrants and citizens, in the EU and US.

Methods: We used the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX), European Health Interview Survey, and National Health Interview Survey for 2014. Our independent variables of interest were MIPEX Health strand score and citizenship. Our dependent variables were four measures of health status (self-reported poor health; severely limited in general activities; two or more comorbidities; one or more ambulatory care sensitive conditions) and four measures of health access and utilization (unmet need due to non-financial reasons; could not afford needed health care; one or more primary care visits last year; any hospitalization last year). We conducted linear probability models and presented the marginal effects of each outcome in percentage points.

Findings: We found that immigrant-friendly health policies were significantly associated with better health and less unmet need due to non-financial reasons.

Conclusion: Our findings supported the promotion of immigrant-friendly and a 'Health-in-All Policies' (HiAP) approach to preserve the health of immigrants.

Keywords: Access to health care; European Union; Health inequalities; Immigrant health policies; MIPEX; Unmet need.