Get Why Does Immigrant Health Deteriorate? - Dartmouth College - Dartmouth

The superior health outcomes of migrants are mainly explained by migration selectivity (i.e. the higher likelihood of healthy individuals migrating successfully), the buffering effect of the original culture (e.g. healthier dietary practices) and the return migration of unwell migrants (resulting in a lower number of ...

A good deal of the current literature interprets a decline in immigrant health, with length of stay or across generations as indicative of problems in American health environments.

The available evidence suggests that immigration leads to more innovation, a better educated workforce, greater occupational specialization, better matching of skills with jobs, and higher overall economic productivity. Immigration also has a net positive effect on combined federal, state, and local budgets.

The “healthy immigrant effect” points to positive health selection. Because healthy people are more likely to migrate, immigrants are healthier than the average person in both the home and host countries, at least when they arrive (Crimmins, Kim, Alley, Karlamangla, & Seeman, 2007; Jasso, 2004; Palloni & Ewbank, 2004).

The “Healthy Immigrant Effect” (HIE) suggests that immigrants have a health advantage over the domestic-born which vanishes with increased length of residency. Most HIE research focuses on physical health, with less attention given to mental health (MH).

The healthy immigrant paradox is a phenomenon experienced in many countries (often wealthier host countries) where recent immigrants, despite facing various economic challenges, tend to have better health outcomes compared to the native-born population and other migrants who have been in the country for a more extended ...

On the whole, foreign-born residents create a net benefit to the United States by paying more into the system than they receive in government-funded medical benefits. As workers, they fill crucial roles at every level of the health care system, from badly needed home health aides to surgeons and researchers.

The healthy immigrant effect is a documented phenomenon in which upon arrival in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, immigrants report better health, on average, than their domestic-born counterparts.