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Studying Migrant Populations Overview. Alfonso Rodriguez- Lainz , PhD, VMD, MPVM US-Mexico Unit CDC Division of Global Migration and Quarantine 7 th Summer Institute on Migration and Global Health June 25-29, 2012. Characteristics of migrants.
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Studying Migrant PopulationsOverview Alfonso Rodriguez-Lainz, PhD, VMD, MPVM US-Mexico Unit CDC Division of Global Migration and Quarantine 7th Summer Institute on Migration and Global Health June 25-29, 2012
Characteristics of migrants • Lack of standardized definition of migration • Diversity (language, culture, education) • Vulnerable • Minority • Language barriers, SES • Legal status • Multinational exposures
Characteristics of migrants (Cont.) • Mobility (international and within-country) • Rarity (i.e., small % of the general population) • Hidden” (e.g., undocumented; distrust ) • Geographicdispersion and local concentration
Mexican-born population as a percent of total county population, United States Counties, 2006-2010 Total Mexican-born population: 11.7 million (2010)
Study methods • Qualitative • Quantitative
Qualitative methods • Key informant interviews • Focus groups • Anthropologic methods
Quantitative methods • Sampling surveys • Case-control studies • Longitudinal studies
Challenge: No samplingframe Strategies: Stratifiedoversampling (household and phonesurveys) Time-space sampling Respondent-drivensampling Migrant-Focused Sampling strategies
Oversampling Example Zip codes by % of migranthouseholds High (>20%) Medium (10-19.9%) Low (2-9.9%) Very low (<2%)
Time-SpaceSampling • Somemigrantpopulationstend to gather in certainlocations (or “venues”) at certain times of theyear, weekorday
“Venue-Day-Time Units” Develop one list for each location (venue)
Advantages • Goodforstudying: • regularvisitorstospecificcommunitylocations • groupsthatcongregate in accessiblevenues • individualswho are rarely at home • Probabilitysample
Disadvantages • Venues’ enumerationis time and resourceintensive ($$) • Locationsand populationmaychangeover time => needrepeatedenumeration • Individualsmay be sampled more thanonce
Respondent-drivenSampling • A communityisdefinedby social relationships (or “Social Networks”) • Participantsselectedfromthe social network
Respondent-DrivenSampling (RDS) • ImprovementoverSnowballSampling • Strategiestomakeit a probabilitysample and control bias: • Recruitmentquota (e.g., 3) • Estimateparticipants social networksize • Keeptrack of recruiters and recruits • Dual incentive system ($ and peer pressure)
RDS Steps • Define the target population • Identifyinitialnumber of target populationmembers (“seeds”) (e.g., 5-8) • Explainstudy, requestparticipation • Ifaccept, collect data and provide incentive • Eachseedisprovidedwith a smallnumber (e.g.,3) uniquenumberedcouponstorecruitothernetworkmembers
RDS Steps (cont.) • Foreach new recruit: • Screentoconfirmmembershipto target population • Explainstudy, requestparticipation • Ifconsent, collect data and provide incentive and coupons (e.g., 3) • Recruiterrecievesanadditional incentive • Repeatprocess • Interview in a convenient place • Continueuntileitherdesiredsamplesize (e.g., 500), or target populationsaturated
RDS: Advantages • It is a probability sampling method • Relatively simple, robust, cheaper and quicker than others • Highly efficient in locating members of a “hidden” or “rare” population • No need for mapping and enumeration
RDS: Disadvantages • It can be management-heavy and expensive • May be difficult to estimate accurately the size of the network for each participant • How representative? • Not suitable for drawing national samples • More complex analysis • Validation studies are underway
General Recommendations • Mixed methods (Quantitative & Qualitative) • Linguistic and culturally appropriate data collection instruments and data collectors • Community-based research • Community leaders • Gain trust • Do not harm • Avoid reinforcing stigma • IRB
Recommendations (Cont.) Disaggregate data (e.g, gender, age, country of birth, time since arrival) Conduct multivariate analysis Conduct multinational migrant health studies (origin and destination countries)
Conclusion • Challenges to migrant research • (Promising) Effective study methods • Critical need for research-based evidence on migrant health • Policy and programs • Eliminate health inequities • Educate the media and public