ABSTRACT
The importance of place and the varied social, economic and environmental conditions and processes people are exposed to within these places are recognised as influences on health (Jones and Duncan, 1995; Macintyre, Ellaway and Cummins, 2002; Marmot and Wilkinson, 2009; Srinivasan, O’Fallon and Dearry, 2003). As a result, a wide range of studies investigate geographical variations in health, comparing mortality and morbidity rates between different area-types. Yet traditionally, such studies often failed to account for the fact that people are mobile and experiencing a range of social, economic and environmental conditions throughout their lives; and that there are implications for changing health status (Gatrell, 2011). This omission was criticised by some (Prothero, 1977; Bentham, 1988) with others demonstrating its folly (for example, Mancuso and Sterling, 1974; Kliewer, 1992). Justifying the role of migration in health studies therefore seems plausible: if area-specific variations in health are under- or overestimated because people migrate, this is an important issue for public health professionals. However, what of health in migration studies?
