Top

Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research

Published in:

01-07-2016 | Original Article

The Healthy Immigrant Effect on Mental Health: Determinants and Implications for Mental Health Policy in Spain

Authors: Berta Rivera, Bruno Casal, Luis Currais

Published in: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research | Issue 4/2016

Abstract

Since the mid-1990s, Spain has started to receive a great number of migrant populations. The migration process can have a significantly negative impact on mental health of immigrant population and, consequently, generate implications for the delivery of mental health services. The aim of this article is to provide empirical evidence to demonstrate that the mental health of immigrants in Spain deteriorates the longer they are resident in the country. An empirical approach to this relationship is carried out with data from the National Survey of Health of Spain 2011–2012 and poisson and negative binomial models. Results show that immigrants who reside <10 years in Spain appear to be in a better state of mental health than that observed for the national population. Studying health disparities in the foreign population and its evolution are relevant to ensure the population’s access to health services and care. The need for further research is especially true in the case of the immigrant population’s mental health in Spain because there is scant evidence available on their situation.

Adams, P., Hurd, M. D., Mcfadden, D., Merrill, A., & Ribeiro, T. (2003). Healthy, wealthy and wise? Tests for direct causal paths between health and socioeconomic status. Journal of Econometrics, 112, 3–56.CrossRef

Aglipay, M., Colman, I., & Chen, Y. (2013). Does the healthy immigrant effect extend to anxiety disorders? Evidence from a nationally representative study. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 15(5), 851–857.CrossRefPubMed

Ali, J. (2002). Mental health of Canada’s immigrants. Health Reports, 13, 101–113.

Antecol, H., & Bedard, K. (2005). Unhealthy assimilation: Why do immigrants converge to American health status levels?. IZA Discussion Paper, 1654. Bonn: IZA.

Baca-García, E., Pérez, M., Quintero, F. J., Martínez, M., Basurte, I., Sevilla-Vicente, J., et al. (2005). Acceso, itinerarios y utilización de los servicios psiquiátricos en la población inmigrante. Monografías de Psiquiatría, 17(4), 11–17.

Bellón, J. A., Delgado, A., De Dios, J., & Lardelli, P. (1996). Validez y fiabilidad del cuestionario de apoyo social funcional Duke-UNC-11. Atención Primaria, 18, 153–163.

Bergeron, P., Auger, N., & Hamel, D. (2009). Weight, general health and mental health: status of diverse subgroups of immigrants in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 100, 215–220.PubMed

Bhugra, D., & Jones, P. (2001). Migration and mental illness. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 7, 216–233.CrossRef

Biddle, N., Kennedy, S., & McDonald, J. T. (2007). Health assimilation patterns amongst Australian immigrants. Economic Record, 83(260), 16–30.CrossRef

Broadhead, W. B., Gehlbach, S. H., de Gruy, F. V., & Kaplan, B. H. (1988). The Duke-UNC functional social support questionnaire: measurement of social support in family medicine patients. Medical Care, 26(7), 709–723.CrossRefPubMed

Cameron, A. C., & Trivedi, P. K. (2010). Microeconometrics using stata. Revised edition. College Station: Stata Press.

Cantarero, D., & Pascual, M. (2008). Salud y utilización en la población inmigrante: una revisión del caso español. Atención Sanitaria y Nuevas Necesidades Poblacionales: Inmigración y Demanda. Santiago de Compostela: FEGAS.

Carta, M. G., Bernal, M., Hardoy, M. C., & Haro-Abad, J. M. (2007). Migration and mental health in Europe (the state of the mental health in Europe working group: appendix 1). Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, 1, 13.CrossRef

Chen, J., Edward, N. G., & Russell, W. (1996). The Health of Canada’s Immigrants in 1994–95. Health Reports, 7(4), 33–45.PubMed

Chen, A. W., Kazanjian, A., & Wong, H. (2008). Determinants of mental health consultations among recent Chinese immigrants in British Columbia, Canada: implications for mental health risk and access to services. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 10, 529–540.CrossRefPubMed

Chen, J., & Vargas-Bustamante, A. (2011). Estimating the effects of immigration status on mental health care utilizations in the United States. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 13(4), 671–680. doi:10.1007/s10903-011-9445-x.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Costa, E., Barreto, S. M., Uchoa, E., Firma, J. O., Lima-Costa, M. F., & Prince, M. (2006). Is the GDS-30 better than the GHQ-12 for screening depression in elderly people in the community? The Bambui health aging study (BHAS). International Psychogeriatrics, 18, 493–503.CrossRefPubMed

European observatory on health systems and policies. (2011). Migration and health in the European Union. New York: Open University Press/McGraw-Hill.

Fossion, P., Servais, L., Rejas, M. C., Ledoux, Y., Pelc, I., & Minner, P. (2004). Psychosis, migration and social environment: an age-and-gender controlled study. European Psychiatry, 19(6), 338–343.CrossRefPubMed

Goldberg, D. P., Gater, R., Satorius, N., Üstün, T. B., Piccinelli, M., Gureje, O., & Rutter, M. (1997). The validity of two versions of the GHQ in the WHO study of mental illness in general health care. Psychological Medicine, 27, 191–197.CrossRefPubMed

Goldberg, D., & Williams, P. (1988). A user’s guide to the general health questionnaire. Windsor: Nfer-Nelson.

Gómez, S. L., Kelsey, J. L., Glaser, S. L., Lee, M. M., & Sidney, S. (2004). Immigration and acculturation in relation to health and health-related risk factors among specific Asian subgroups in a health maintenance organisation. American Journal of Public Health, 94(11), 1977–1984.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Gotor, L., & González-Juárez, C. (2004). Psychiatric hospitalization and continuity of care in inmigrants treated in Madrid. Social Psychiatry and Pychiatric Epidemiology, 39, 560–568.

Greene, W. H. (2011). Econometric analysis. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Grossman, M. (2000). The human capital model. In A. J. Culyer & J. P. Newhouse (Eds.), Handbook of health economics (pp. 347–408). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Grüsser, S. M., Wölfling, K., Mörsen, C. P., Albrecht, U., & Heinz, A. (2005). Immigration-associated variables and substance dependence. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 66(1), 98–104.CrossRef

Gutiérrez, M. D. (2002). Trastornos mentales en minorías étnicas: ¿un tema para investigar en atención primaria? Atención Primaria, 29, 6–13.CrossRef

Health & Consumer Protection Directorate-General. (2004). The state of mental health in Europe. Luxembourg: European Commission.

Hernández-Quevedo, C., & Jiménez-Rubio, D. (2009). A comparison of the health status and health care utilisation patterns between foreigners and the national population in Spain: new evidence from the Spanish national health survey. Social Science and Medicine, 69, 370–378.CrossRefPubMed

Hoeymans, N., Garssen, A., Westert, G., & Verhaak, P. (2004). Measuring mental health of the Dutch population: a comparison of the GHQ-12 and the MHI-5. Health Quality Life Outcomes, 2, 13–23.CrossRef

Instituto Nacional de Estadística. (2013). Encuesta Nacional de Salud 2011–2012. Madrid: Instituto Nacional de Estadística.

Jasso, G., Massey, D., Rosenzweig, M., & Smith, J. (2004). Immigrant health: selectivity and acculturation. IFS Working Paper, 04/23. London: Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Kirmayer, L. J., Weinfeld, M., Burgos, G., du Fort, G. G., Lasry, J. C., & Young, A. (2007). Use of health care services for psychological distress by immigrants in an urban multicultural milieu. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 52(5), 295–304.PubMed

Krueger, A. B. (1993). How computers have changed the wage structure: Evidence from microdata 1984–1989. Quaterly Journal of Economics, CVIII, 33–60.CrossRef

Lay, B., Lauber, C., Nordt, C., & Rössler, W. (2006). Patterns of inpatient care for immigrants in Switzerland: A case control study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 41(3), 199–207.CrossRefPubMed

Lindert, J., Schouler-Ocak, M., Heinz, A., & Priebe, S. (2008). Mental health, health care utilisation of migrants in Europe. European Psychiatry, 23(1), 14–20. doi:10.1016/S0924-9338(08)70057-9.CrossRefPubMed

Llop-Gironés, A., Vargas, I., Garcia-Subirats, I., Aller, M. B., & Vázquez, M. L. (2014). Acceso a los servicios de salud de la población inmigrante en España. Revista Española de Salud Pública, 88(6), 715–734. doi:10.4321/S1135-57272014000600005.CrossRefPubMed

Lou, Y., & Beaujot, R. (2005). What happens to the ‘Healthy Immigrant Effect’: The mental health of immigrants to Canada. PSC Discussion Papers Series, 19(15), article 1. London/Canada: Population Studies Centre, University of Western Ontario.

Marmot, M. G., Adelstein, A. M., & Bulusu, L. (1984). Lessons from the study of immigrant mortality. Lancet, 1(8392), 1455–1457.CrossRefPubMed

Marmot, M. G., & Syme, S. L. (1976). Acculturation and coronary heart disease in Japanese–Americans. American Journal of Epidemiology, 104(3), 225–247.PubMed

Mcdonald, J. T., & Kennedy, S. (2004). Insights into the ‘healthy immigrant effect’: health status and health service use of immigrants to Canada. Social Science and Medicine, 59, 1613–1627.CrossRefPubMed

Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad. (2014). Transversalidad y Continuidad Asistencial en Salud Mental. Madrid: Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad.

Ministry of Health and Consumer Affaire. (2007). Summary of the strategy in mental health of the national health system. Madrid: Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs.

Newbold, B., & Danforth, J. (2003). Health status and Canada’s immigrant population. Social Science and Medicine, 57, 1981–1995.CrossRefPubMed

Nolan, A. (2012). The’healthy immigrant’ effect: initial evidence for Ireland. Health Economics, Policy and Law, 7, 343–362.CrossRef

Ochoa, E., Vicente, N., & Díaz, H. (2004). Asistencia psiquiátrica a inmigrantes: Demanda en un centro de salud mental y hospitalización. Psiquiatria, 8(3), 1–10.

Oppedal, B., Røysamb, E., & Lackland, D. (2004). The effect of acculturation and social support on change in mental health among young immigrants. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28(6), 481–494. doi:10.1080/01650250444000126.CrossRef

Palloni, A., & Arias, E. (2003). A re-examination of the hispanic mortality paradox. Center for Demography and Ecology Working Paper, 2003–01. University of Wisconsin: Madison.

Palloni, A., & Morenoff, J. (2001). Interpreting the paradoxical in the ‘hispanic paradox’: Demographic and epidemiological approaches. In M. Weinstein, A. Hermalin, & M. Stoto (Eds.), Population health and aging (pp. 140–174). New York: New York Academy of Sciences.

Perez, C. (2002). Health status and health behaviour among immigrants. Health Reports, 13. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

Pevalin, D. J. (2000). Multiple applications of the GHQ-12 in a general population sample: An investigation of long-term retest effects. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 35(11), 508–512.CrossRefPubMed

Putnam, R. (1993). Making democracy work. Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Regidor, E., Sanz, B., Pascual, C., Lostao, L., Sánchez, E., & Díaz, J. M. (2009). La utilización de los servicios sanitarios por la población inmigrante en España. Gaceta Sanitaria, 23(1), 4–11.CrossRefPubMed

Rivera, B., Casal, B., Cantarero, D., & Pascual, M. (2008). Adaptación de los servicios de salud a las características específicas y de utilización de los nuevos españoles. Gaceta Sanitaria, 22(1), 86–95.CrossRef

Rivera, B., Casal, B., & Currais, L. (2013). Healthy immigrant effect: trayectoria de salud de la población inmigrante a partir de la ENSE 2011-2012. Estudios de Economía Aplicada, 31(2), 339–358.

Sánchez-López, M. P., & Dresch, V. (2008). The 12-item general health questionnaire (GHQ-12): Reliability, external validity and factor structure in the Spanish population. Psicothema, 20(4), 839–843.

Sanz, L. J., Elustondo, I., Valverde, M., Montilla, J., & Miralles, M. (2007). Salud mental e inmigración: adhesión al tratamiento ambulatorio. Revista de la Asociación Española de Neouropsiquatría, 27(100), 281–291.

Smith, J. P. (2004). Unravelling the SES health connection. The Institute for Fiscal Studies Working Paper, 04-02. Londres: The Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Sorlie, P. D., Backlund, E., & Keller, J. (1995). U.S. mortality by economic, demographic, and social characteristics: The national longitudinal mortality study. American Journal of Public Health, 85, 949–956.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Stephen, E. H., Foote, K., Hendershot, G. E., & Schoenborn, C. A. (1994). Health of the foreign-born population. Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics, 241, 1–10.PubMed

Stillman, S., Mckenzie, D., & Gibson, J. (2009). Migration and mental health: Evidence from a natural experiment. Journal of Health Economics, 28, 677–687.CrossRefPubMed

Stoyanova, A., & Diaz-Serrano, L. (2009). El impacto diferencial del capital social sobre la salud mental de la población autóctona y los inmigrantes residentes en Cataluña. Gaceta Sanitaria, 23(1), 93–99.CrossRefPubMed

Straiton, M., Grant, J. F., Winefield, H. R., & Taylor, A. (2014). Mental health in immigrant men and women in Australia: The North West Adelaide health study. BMC Public Health, 14, 1–15.CrossRef

United Nations. (2014). International migration report 2013. New York: United Nations.

Wu, Z., & Schimmele, Ch. (2005). The healthy migrant effect on depression: Variation over time? Canadian Studies in Population, 32(2), 271–295.

Instituto Nacional de Estadística (several years). Padrón Municipal: Explotación Estadística. Madrid: Instituto Nacional de Estadística.

Yeo, S. (2004). Language barriers and access to care. Annual Review of Nursing Research, 22, 59–73.PubMed

Title: The Healthy Immigrant Effect on Mental Health: Determinants and Implications for Mental Health Policy in Spain
Authors: Berta Rivera
Bruno Casal
Luis Currais
Publication date: 01-07-2016
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research / Issue 4/2016
Print ISSN: 0894-587X
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3289
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-015-0668-3

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

The Healthy Immigrant Effect on Mental Health: Determinants and Implications for Mental Health Policy in Spain

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 4/2016

A Comparison of Benefit Limits in Mental Health

Locking Away “Recidivism”

An Economic Evaluation of a Weight Loss Intervention Program for People with Serious Mental Illnesses Taking Antipsychotic Medications

Projected Spending on Psychotropic Medications 2013–2020

The Expanding Relevance of Routinely Collected Outcome Data for Mental Health Care Decision Making

Online Information Searches and Help Seeking for Mental Health Problems in Urban China