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PubMed1993

Psychological adjustment and distress among Soviet immigrant physicians: demographic and background variables.

The goal of the present study was to examine the psychological distress of Soviet immigrant physicians in Israel and to identify risk and resilience factors in the psychological adjustment to immigration. This is a first report on a study conducted among 385 (152 men and 233 women) Soviet immigrant physicians who participated in preparatory licensing courses. The design of the study is described in detail and initial results are presented. These include demographic characteristics of the sample, background variables connected with motivation for immigration and reported absorption difficulties encountered in Israel. Family problems were found to be significantly correlated with depression: the highest rate of reported depression was found among single parents. Subjects who were examined during the second year after immigration reported depression more often than subjects who were in Israel less than a year. The findings suggest that motivational and family factors may enhance or mitigate the psychological distress experienced by immigrants.

Acculturation↗

PubMed1996

[Pattern of visits to a primary care clinic by recent Russian immigrants].

The pattern that characterized 2790 visits to a primary care clinic by recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union during their first 2 years in Israel was studied. The control group comprised 2689 visits of veteran Israeli patients to the same primary care clinic during the same period. 2/3 of the immigrants visited the clinic in the first year of the study and 1/3 in the second year. Half the veteran Israeli patients visited the clinic in the first year and the other half in the second. The mean number of clinic consultations for the immigrants was 5.2 per patient in the first year as opposed to 3.2 in the second. In the control group there was an average of 3.8 visits in the first year, and 4.1 in the second. The commonest reasons for consultations by immigrants were circulatory diseases, and for the controls, respiratory diseases. In both years there was a significant statistical difference between the number of visits by immigrants which were associated with elevated blood pressure, angina pectoris and psychological problems, compared to veteran Israelis. Thus, most of consultations by immigrants took place in the first year for circulatory diseases. There followed a gradual decrease in consultations, indicating successful management of their medical problems and perhaps adaptation to the behavioral pattern of veteran Israelis.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗

PubMed1998

[Health promotion for immigrant women in Quebec].

Over the past fifteen years, the Canadian population has undergone increasing cultural diversification. Many researchers have investigated the role of culture with respect to social and health services. Most studies confirm the fact that increased cultural diversification related to immigration challenges the public health system in many ways. Certain groups, such as economically challenged immigrant women, may pose even greater problems to the health system. While these individuals are in relatively good health upon arrival to Canada, there is a need to ensure that adequate health promotion as well as disease prevention strategies are instituted. It is important to examine the concepts of health promotion and disease prevention through a cultural perspective. Little research has been done in this area. Concepts of promotion and prevention as they are understood by immigrants may not always coincide with North American or European definitions. Therefore, it is essential to consider life conditions that surround potential health promotion and prevention behaviors of immigrants. Empowerment, economic integration and acculturation are among the many factors that need to be taken into account when studying immigrants' health promotion behavior. Here, we present a critical analysis of current knowledge in this field. This is followed by research recommendations aimed at facilitating the development of health promotion and prevention strategies that are appropriate to the needs of Canadian, and more specifically of immigrant women in Québec.

Acculturation↗

PubMed1998

[Refugee or immigrant children in hospital].

The aim of the study was to gain knowledge of the diagnosis, length of hospital stay, and ethnic background of refugee and immigrant children admitted to the Paediatric Ward at Aker University Hospital in Oslo, and to find out how well the staff and families of the children communicated. 347 children, admitted from ten districts in the immediate vicinity of the hospital, were included in the study. 133 (38%) children had parents who were both born in a non-western country. 44 of the children came from a refugee background and 89 from an immigrant background. The median stay on the Paediatric Ward was three days for the immigrant children and two days for the refugee children and children from Western countries. None of the groups was admitted more frequently than the others. Refugee and immigrant children were most often admitted because of respiratory diseases or obscure symptoms. Communication between the staff and more than 40% of the families with refugee or immigrant backgrounds was not satisfactory. Three out of four mothers and one out of two fathers were unable to communicate well in Norwegian. One third of the mothers had less than six years of school education and one quarter of the immigrant mothers had never attended school.

Child↗

PubMed1996

Ambivalence and Persuasion: The Processing of Messages about Immigrant Groups

Previous research has found that ambivalence is an important characteristic of attitudes toward minority groups. In the present research, we determined whether people who are ambivalent toward a minority group exhibit more systematic processing of persuasive messages pertaining to the group than do people who are not ambivalent toward the group. To test this hypothesis, we measured 113 participants' ambivalence toward Oriental people. After a delay, the participants were presented with a persuasive message that contained either strong or weak arguments in favor of immigration from Hong Kong. We examined the effects of the persuasive message on agreement with immigration from Hong Kong, attitudes toward residents of Hong Kong, and immigration-relevant thoughts. In accordance with our hypothesis that ambivalence leads to systematic processing, we predicted first that the strong message would cause ambivalent participants to be more favorable toward residents of Hong Kong and toward their immigration from Hong Kong than would the weak message; this tendency was expected to be weaker among nonambivalent participants. Second, we predicted that the effect of message strength on ambivalent participants' agreement with immigration from Hong Kong would be mediated by their immigration-relevant thoughts. Results indicated support for both predictions.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1992

Gene flow by immigrants into isolated recipient populations: a laboratory model using flour beetles.

The effectiveness of immigrants as agents of gene flow was investigated in a laboratory model, using mutant marker strains of the flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst). We show that immigrants had an advantage over residents. The proportion of hybrid offspring (PHO), resulting from immigrant mating with residents, was higher than expected from their frequency in the parental population. This advantage was observed regardless of immigrant sex and immigrant strain. The advantage seems to result from immigrant mating advantage (although not a rare-male phenomenon) and not from better survival of hybrid offspring. However, hybrid offspring seem to be more resistant to sporozoan infection, resulting in higher PHO in sporozoan-infected cultures.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Determinants of self-reported emotional and behavioral problems in Turkish immigrant adolescents aged 11-18.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine how adolescent, parent, family and stress factors and parental psychopathology are associated with self-reported emotional and behavioral problems in Turkish immigrant adolescents. METHODS: Multiple logistic models were fitted to determine the associations between problems, assessed by the Youth Self-Report (n = 363), and determinants, derived from the Turkish Immigrant Assessment Questionnaire and the General Health Questionnaire-28 filled in by parents. RESULTS: Repeating a grade,not living with both parents, remarriage and death or serious health problems in the family were associated with higher YSR scores. Support from the mother's family was of major importance. The strongest predictive power was found for family-related factors in boys and for parent-related factors in girls. CONCLUSIONS: Cultural aspects and post-immigration issues play an important underlying role in explaining problem behavior in Turkish immigrant adolescents. Future research should include additional immigrant-specific factors, e. g., acculturation-related issues, preferably in a longitudinal study design to gain more insight into the complex relationship between immigrant status and psychopathology.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Prevalence and determinants of minor psychiatric disorder in Turkish immigrants living in The Netherlands.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of and risk and protective factors for minor psychiatric disorder in a general population sample of Turkish immigrants living in the Netherlands. METHODS: Minor psychiatric disorder was assessed with the 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire. Demographic, immigration, social and support, and stress related variables were assessed with the Turkish Immigrant Assessment Questionnaire. The study sample was a randomly selected sample of 262 male and 523 female Turkish immigrants. RESULTS: Of all immigrants, 33.4% experience minor psychiatric disorder with more females (36.1%) than males (27.9%) with disorder. For males, unemployment is a strong risk factor, whereas for females the burden of additional tasks (physical illness and inclusion of family members) in the household increases the risk for psychiatric disorder. For both males and females, however, the quality of the relationship with their partner in addition to enduring stresses around housing and finances are associated with elevated risks. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of minor psychiatric disorder in this sample of Turkish immigrants living in the Netherlands is higher than the incidence normally found in general population samples. The expression of somatic complaints around 'tightness' should alert physicians to further explore symptoms of minor psychiatric disorder and to examine sources of distress stemming from the partner relationship, the family, work and from poor housing and financial conditions.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

The Sierra Club and immigration policy: a critique.

In 1998, the Sierra Club membership voted in a contentious referendum to refrain from including restriction of U.S. immigration as part of its official club population policy. Club proponents of immigration reduction had declared the problem was simply the environmental impact of greater numbers of people; however, they failed to distinguish themselves from groups with much broader immigration-reduction agendas, leaving themselves open to charges of racism. The club faction calling for the exclusion of immigration issues from the policy, on the other hand, failed to acknowledge the demographic reality of the contribution of immigration (30%) to the growth of the U.S. population. As a result, current club policy is not credible, as it calls for a reduction in the U.S. population but ignores immigration. The Sierra Club's complex organi- zational structure and open, democratic political process make it particularly vulnerable to internal conflict during periods of changing perspectives within the organization.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Chronic disease prevalence in immigrants to Israel from the former USSR.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of chronic health conditions in the Russian population who immigrated to Israel during 1989-1992. Interviewer-supported self-administered questionnaires were distributed to a 50% random sample of 1710 immigrants residing in the city of Nazareth-Ilit in Northern Israel. The final study group included 897 adults after a 3.5% of noncompliance. The study participants were asked to report all chronic diseases from a list of 11 disease states. The data were coupled with their demographic data and are presented as age/sex-specific prevalence rates. Self-reported disease prevalence rates among the Russian immigrants to Israel were found to be very high (62.2% of the males and 68.7% of the females reported a mean 3-3.5 diseases per person). These reported rates were significantly higher for immigrants from the European republics (67.1%) than for those from Asian republics (55.6%). The highest reported age-specific disease prevalence rates were for musculoskeletal diseases (389/1000), ischemic heart disease (340/1000), gastrointestinal diseases (269/1000), and hypertension (226/1000). A higher rate among females was found for almost all disease states. The prevalence rates reported by the Russian Jews in this study are much higher than commonly observed in Western countries. This is in accordance with a similar difference in reported mortality rates between Western countries and the former USSR. The etiologic explanation of this finding is yet to be studied. In addition, and in light of the mass immigration of Eastern European residents to the West it is of major importance for local health authorities to respond appropriately to the differences in health status of these immigrating populations.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Identifying older Chinese immigrants at high risk for osteoporosis.

BACKGROUND: Data about whether Asian Americans are a high-risk or a low-risk group for osteoporosis are limited and inconsistent. Few previous studies have recognized that the heterogeneity of the Asian American population, with respect to both nativity (foreign- vs U.S.-born) and ethnicity, may be related to osteoporosis risk. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether older foreign-born Chinese Americans living in an urban ethnic enclave are at high risk of osteoporosis and to refer participants at high risk for follow-up care. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey and osteoporosis screening, undertaken as a collaborative project by the Chinese American Service League and researchers at the University of Chicago. SETTING: Chicago's Chinatown. PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred sixty-nine immigrant Chinese American men and women aged 50 and older. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Chinese Americans in this urban setting are generally recent immigrants from south China with limited education and resources: mean age at immigration was 54, 56% had primary only or no education, and 57% reported "fair" or "poor" self-rated health. Eighteen percent are uninsured and 55% receive Medicaid. Bone mineral density (BMD) of the calcaneus was estimated using quantitative ultrasound. Immigrant Chinese women in the study had lower average BMD than reference data for white women or U.S.-born Asian Americans. BMD for immigrant Chinese men in the study was similar to white men at ages 50 to 69, and lower at older ages. Low body mass index, low educational attainment and older age at immigration were all associated with lower BMD. CONCLUSIONS: Foreign-born Chinese Americans may be a high-risk group for osteoporosis.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

Allee effects, immigration, and the evolution of species' niches.

Theoretical studies of adaptation to sink environments (with conditions outside the niche requirements of a species) have shown that immigration from source habitats can either facilitate or inhibit local adaptation. Here, we examine the influence of immigration on the evolution of local adaptation, given an Allee effect (i.e., at low densities, absolute fitness increases with population density). We consider a deterministic model for evolution at a haploid locus, and a stochastic individual-based model for evolution of a quantitative trait, and several kinds of Allee effects. We demonstrate that increased immigration can greatly facilitate adaptive evolution in the sink; with greater immigration, local population sizes rise, and because of the Allee effect, there is a positive indirect effect of immigration on local fitness. This makes it easier for alleles of modest effect to be captured by natural selection, transforming the sink into a locally adapted population that can persist without immigration.

Adaptation, Biological↗

PubMed1999

Illness and treatment perceptions of Ethiopian immigrants and their doctors in Israel.

OBJECTIVES: Patient-provider misunderstandings arising from disparate medical and cultural concepts can impede health care among immigrant populations. This study assessed the extent of disagreement and identified the salient problems of communication between Israeli doctors and Ethiopian immigrant patients. METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 59 Ethiopian immigrants. Self-reports of health status and effectiveness of treatment were compared with evaluations by the primary care physician and supplemented by qualitative data from descriptions of illness, observations of medical visits, informant interviews, and participant observations conducted by the anthropologist. RESULTS: Health status and effectiveness of treatment were rated significantly higher by the doctor than by the patients. Low doctor-patient agreement occurred mainly for illnesses with stress-related or culture-specific associations. Qualitative data suggested that more long-term immigrants may alter their expectations of treatment but continue to experience symptoms that are culturally, but not biomedically, meaningful. CONCLUSIONS: Misunderstandings between immigrant patients and their doctors emerge from the biomedical system's limitations in addressing stress-related illnesses and from culture-based discrepancies in concepts of illness and healing. Including trained translators in medical teams can reduce medical misunderstandings and increase patient satisfaction among immigrant populations.

Acculturation↗

PubMed2002

[Lipid and lipoprotein profile of Chinese immigrants living in Costa Rica].

The lipid profile and food pattern of 50 Chinese immigrants living in San José, Costa Rica were studied during 1999. The results showed that 35% of the immigrants had high levels of total cholesterol (> or = 5.16 mmol/L) and 51% had high concentrations of LDL-Cholesterol (> or = 2.84 mmol/L). Moreover, 36% of them had high levels of triglycerides (> 1.69 mmol/L) and only the 15% had low concentrations of HDL-cholesterol (< or = 0.90 mmol/L). The ratio of men with high levels of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides and low levels of HDL-cholesterol was larger that the one in women; although this difference was not significant. 41% of the studied population presented Castelli's Indexes (TC/HDL-C) above 4.5. In general, around 80% of the Chinese immigrants consume vegetables 5-6 times/week and 50% consume fruits with the same frequency. A high percentage of the immigrants eat food with animal protein more than 3 times/week and around 23% eat frequently snacks and fast foods. Our data suggest that the Chinese immigrants still keep some characteristics of their nutritional culture. Nevertheless, they have changed their food pattern to a more atherogenic one. It's important that nutritionists and other health professionals evaluate in detail the factors associated with the change in the food pattern of the immigrants, in order to avoid an increase in the rates of morbi-mortality of coronary disease in this group of population.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Prevalence of antibodies to human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type I and human immunodeficiency virus in Japanese immigrant colonies in Bolivia and Bolivian natives.

This study was performed to estimate human T-cell leukemia-lymphoma virus type-I (HTLV-I) infection and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Japanese immigrant colonies in Bolivia, where no seroepidemiological study of HTLV-I or HIV has ever been reported, among 647 healthy adults and children of Japanese descent and Bolivian natives living in the same colonies. The overall prevalence of HTLV-I antibody was 12.6% (59/469) among Japanese immigrant populations, but increased with age, being 16.2% (49/303) among adults and 6.0% (10/166) among children; no significant difference in relation to sex was noted. The first generation immigrants (issei) from Kyushu, the large southwestern island of Japan where adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is endemic, had 19.0% (49/258) HTLV-I seroprevalence, while issei from outside Kyushu had none (0/39). Among Bolivian members of the community, consisting mostly of Indians and persons of Spanish descent, the HTLV-I seroprevalence was 4.3% (7/164) overall, 2.4% (1/42) among adults and 4.9% (6/122) among children. No antibody to HIV was detected among Japanese or Bolivian populations. The results of this study show that: (1) there is a considerable number of HTLV-I carriers among Japanese immigrant populations in Bolivia, especially among immigrants from Kyushu, (2) there exist some HTLV-I carriers among Bolivian natives, raising the possibility of HTLV-I transmission by co-habitation with Japanese immigrants, (3) HIV is far from endemic in this district of Bolivia, at present.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed1997

Cervical koilocytosis in hysterectomy specimens of Israeli residents and new immigrants.

There is an impression that the prevalence of cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) among new immigrants from the former Soviet Union, is higher than among Israeli residents. Etiologically, SCC is associated with human papilloma virus infection (HPV). The purpose of the present study was to assess the prevalence of cervical HPV infection in new immigrants from the Soviet Union and in Israeli residents as indicated by the presence of koilocytosis in hysterectomy specimens. The study group consisted of 304 women (60 new immigrants and 244 Israeli residents who underwent hysterectomy for benign reasons). The original histological slides of the cervix were reviewed with special attention to the presence of koilocytosis. The two study subgroups differed, as expected, with regard to some characteristics, but koilocytosis was not present in any of the cervical specimens of new immigrants nor of residents. Although the study subgroups may be too small or selective, our findings do not support a possible higher HPV infection rate among new immigrants, yet may indicate a low reservoir of HPV in new immigrants and residents, in line with the low SCC incidence in Israeli women.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Immigrants, Germans and national identity in the new Germany: some policy issues.

"This paper considers how the role and status of Germany's diverse immigrant population has been affected by its new geopolitical situation, in particular unification, since 1989.... The paper shows how the integration prospects for Germany's older immigrant populations have been dented by the combination of economic restructuring and a huge upsurge in new types of immigration. Prominent among the latter are ethnic German resettlers (or Aussiedler), and the paper examines how these immigrants find themselves in a weak position.... The paper concludes that, although there would appear to be no major labour shortages within the economy, Germany has to develop a more extensive range of migration policies to cater for the huge demand for economically motivated migration. The alternative will inevitably be a further growth in illegal migration, which would not be helpful to the position of established immigrant populations."

Acculturation↗

PubMed1995

Migration and social change: a longitudinal study of the social mobility of 'immigrants' in England and Wales.

"Data from the OPCS Longitudinal Study is used to examine the social mobility of 'immigrants' in England and Wales between 1971 and 1981. Three issues are raised: (i) in what respects and to what degree do 'immigrants' differ in their social mobility characteristics from the norm set by the population as a whole?; (ii) in what respects and to what degree do 'immigrants' differ amongst themselves in their social mobility characteristics according to their country of origin?; and (iii) how do 'second-generation immigrants' and recently-arrived immigrants differ in their social class locations from those who have been in the British labour market for a considerable length of time?" (SUMMARY IN FRE)

Demography↗