An examination of migrant preferences for health and healthcare
Kelleher, Dan
Kelleher, Dan
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Publication Date
2022-04-20
Type
Thesis
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Abstract
Understanding the needs and preferences of migrant groups presents challenges to their host countries, including that of the host country's healthcare system. Migrants are a distinct subpopulation of the host country's population. Migrants can differ from the natives of their host country regarding their health status, various health-related behaviours and access to and use of healthcare services, which can contribute to disparities in health between migrants and host populations. Various socioeconomic and sociodemographic factors can underpin such differences. However, there may be other factors that can contribute to migrant health, health-related behaviours and healthcare use that have yet to be fully explored within the literature, such as migrant preferences for health and healthcare. The overarching aim of this thesis is to examine and compare the preferences for health and healthcare of Polish migrants and native Irish, both residing full-time in Ireland. Preferences for health capture the utility value an individual places on compromised health and preferences for healthcare capture where and how an individual may prefer to avail of certain health services. The thesis specifically collects new data on Polish migrants and compares them to data collected on native Irish respondents. Polish migrants were chosen because they are the largest migrant group currently living in Ireland. This thesis presents results from five empirical chapters that taken together addresses the aim of the thesis. The first examines and compares the self-reported EQ-5D-5L health state profiles and health-related behaviours of the Polish migrants and native Irish. The second empirical chapter examines and compares the health preferences of the Polish migrants and comparable native Irish respondents using an opportunistic secondary analysis of existing data from the Irish EQ-5D-5L valuation study. The third empirical chapter further examines and compares the health preferences of the Polish migrants and native Irish using a novel application of a smaller design EQ-5D-5L valuation study. The fourth empirical chapter examines and compares the preventive healthcare use of the Polish migrants and native Irish respondents in Ireland and examines whether the Polish migrants have a preference for accessing preventive care in Poland over similar care in Ireland. The final empirical chapter examines whether underlying health preferences relate to the use of preventive healthcare. Marked differences in the preferences for health and healthcare are found between the Polish migrants and native Irish respondents in this thesis. Such differences are shown to underpin some of the differences in the health, health-related behaviours and healthcare use between the Polish migrant and native Irish groups. As a result, findings from this thesis have provided new insight into migrant preferences for health and healthcare, and this new knowledge can be used to inform migrant health policy in Ireland and elsewhere. As migrant populations increase in size in Ireland and Europe, there is a growing need to better understand the preferences for health and healthcare of migrant groups to better inform migrant health policy.
Publisher
NUI Galway