ABSTRACT
Human mobility has traditionally been acknowledged by the health community as a factor related to the possible transmission of disease and the need to ‘recognise, identify and manage specific diseases, illnesses or health concerns in mobile populations at the time and place of their arrival’ (Gushulak and MacPherson 2006). More recently, health professionals and researchers have also focused on investigating the role of migration on health disparities and the differential use of healthcare services by migrant populations. The focus of this research has initially been racial and ethnic minority populations in the USA and the UK, and subsequently, the so-called first-and second-generation migrants in continental Europe. Most studies – using migrant status or ethnicity as an independent variable – focus on how migrants who have established themselves in a new country fare in terms of health status, how these groups use the healthcare system of the host society and whether they are disadvantaged in terms of health status and access to healthcare compared to the local population.
