ABSTRACT
Many factors influence the health of migrants, before and after they migrate and during the migration process. They include migrants’ demography, socio-economic circumstances and health in countries and areas of origin, reasons for migration, the nature of migration journeys, the way they are received in destinations, their circumstances and health status upon arrival and over time and their entitlement and access to health care in the receiving context. While it is more commonly perceived that migration affects health, it is also important to consider that the relationship between migration and health can be converse: health affects migration as, for instance, in relation to who chooses or is allowed to immigrate or emigrate, and in pre-migration and post-migration medical testing for infectious diseases or fitness to work (Coker 2004). Health is also a key indicator of integration, a two-way process concerning how migrants adapt to and how they are received in the society in which they come to live, and is important for other integration outcomes, such as employability or civic participation, which are dependent on good health (Spencer & Cooper 2006).
