Migration and Health

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COEMH Contributes to 12th Annual Binational Health Week in Oaxaca, Mexico

The UCGHI and COEMH co-sponsored the inaugural event of the 12th annual Binational Health Week held October 1-2, 2012 in Oaxaca, Mexico. Dr. Marc Schenker, Co-Director of COEMH, gave the plenary presentation to an audience of over 300 people, including the Mexican Minister of Health and the Governor and Minster of Health of Oaxaca. The two-day Policy Forum on Migration and Health was attended by a UC delegation of over 50 students, faculty, and administrators, including Bill Lacy, the UC Davis Vice-Provost for Outreach and International Programs, and Adela de la Torre, Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs at UC Davis.

Four UC campuses (UCLA, UCSF, UC Davis, and UC Berkeley) participated in the publication and distribution of 1,000 copies of a new national report on migration and health of adolescents, released by the Secretary of Health of Mexico during the Policy Forum. The book was co-produced with the Mexican National Population Council (CONAPO) with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). In addition, COEMH helped distribute 1,000 copies of UC-created bilingual fact sheets on health issues affecting migrant Latinos in the US. The eight fact sheets provided the backbone of the workshops and national campaigns of Binational Health Week, and focus on the areas of mental health, occupational health, HIV/AIDS, women's health, adolescent health, gangs and addiction, diabetes, autism, and demographic/epidemiological profiles.

COEMH Presents at the 12th Annual National Hispanic Science Network (NHSN) Meeting

The COEMH hosted a breakout session at the 12th annual National Hispanic Science Network (NHSN) meeting in San Diego, CA on September 27, 2012. The session included presentations from doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows from four UC campuses who are focusing their research on the effects of migration on physical and mental health outcomes among Hispanic populations. All four presenters participated in the COEMH summer workshop and subsequently became members of the NHSN. The breakout session was facilitated by COEMH Co-Director Dr. Steffanie Strathdee and Wayne Cornelius from UC San Diego, and was well-attended by NHSN members.

7th Summer Institute on Migration and Global Health a Huge Success

The 7th Summer Institute on Migration and Global Health and Student Training Workshop that was held in Los Angeles June 25-29 was a huge success, with unanimously positive participant feedback. Over 130 people attended from 61 organizations, with 35 speakers representing the 10 UC campuses and 9 countries (including the US, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Guatemala, Denmark, El Salvador, Peru, and Spain), and more than 50 student participants.

In addition to multidisciplinary presentations and workshops, attendees visited the Ventanilla de Salud at the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles. The event was sponsored by UCGHI Center of Expertise on Migration and Health, UC Berkeley Health Initiative of the Americas, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, the California Health Interview Survey, the Council of Mexican Federations, AltaMed, The California Endowment, and Ventanilla de Salud. The event received grants from The California Endowment and NIH Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Strathdee Re-Joins COEMH as Co-Director

Steffanie Strathdee, Associate Dean of Global Health Sciences and Harold Simon Professor and Chief of the Division of Global Public Health in the Department of Medicine at UCSD, has rejoined the Center of Expertise on Migration and Health (COEMH) as Co-Director for the southern UC campuses (Mark Schenker is the Co-Director for the northern campuses). Wayne Cornelius is the outgoing COEMH Co-Director and former UCGHI Education Co-Director, who contributed to the development of guidelines for establishing undergraduate global health educational offerings. The current UCGHI Education Co-Director is Marylynn Yates.

Cornelius Awarded Mexico’s Top Honor for Foreigners

Former COEMH Co-Director Wayne Cornelius of UC San Diego was awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle, Mexico’s highest honor for foreigners, for his contributions to Mexico through his work in migration and health. Read article in UT San Diego: Two San Diegans awarded Mexico's highest honor for foreigners.

Ojeda Awarded GloCal Fellowship

Victoria Ojeda, an Assistant Professor in the Division of Global Public Health in the Department of Medicine at UC San Diego, was awarded a GloCal fellowship for her work with deportee populations in Tijuana.

Ojeda’s research focuses on the health of underserved and vulnerable populations, including immigrants, Latinos, and women. She has published on health services issues including access to health insurance coverage, utilization of health and mental health services, and the financing of health care.

Ojeda’s GloCal project will focus on the forced expulsion, commonly known as ‘deportation’, of Mexican migrants from the United States. Migrants often experience economic and social vulnerabilities that affect their health status and relationships with the healthcare system. Data on social and economic factors that affect deportees’ abilities to re-incorporate into society following deportation is scant, challenging countries around the world to develop appropriate policies and programs to meet their needs. Ojeda’s pilot study aims to: (1) identify appropriate measures of social incorporation for deportees seeking free healthcare in Tijuana, Mexico; (2) develop profiles of social incorporation; (3) assess relationships between social incorporation and deportees’ health status and access to care; and (4) explore the role of public policy in shaping migrant health.

Silverman Awarded NIH Grant for Study on Sex Trafficking

Jay Silverman, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Global Public Health at UC San Diego, was recently awarded the first-ever NIH grant ($1,569,375) to focus on sex trafficking. The new study, Epidemiology of Sex Trafficking, Drug Use and HIV at the US-Mexico Border, will describe the prevalence and nature of sex trafficking in two major US-Mexico border cities — Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez — and the social and structural factors that may affect vulnerability to sex trafficking and HIV risk among trafficking victims. Silverman will accomplish this via a mixed-methods study of 800 female sex workers from Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, conducted in consultation with multiple national- and state-level systems key informants to maximize the relevance, acceptability, and dissemination of study findings. The study also includes Shira Goldenberg, a recipient of a COEMH fellowship, as a co-investigator.

The 7th Summer Institute on Migration and Global Health to Be Held June 25-29, 2012 in Los Angeles

This five-day course offers researchers, faculty, graduate students and professionals working with migrant communities around the world a unique opportunity to learn about different issues that affect the health of mobile populations from an international and multidisciplinary perspective. As a special track of the Summer Institute, the UCGHI Center of Expertise on Migration and Health, in partnership with the Health Initiative of the Americas (HIA) and the Migration and Health Research Center (MAHRC), will offer a Research Training Workshop for graduate students, recent postdoctoral scholars, and junior faculty attending the Institute. Find more information about the Summer Institute and Research Workshop.

Follow @migranthealth on Twitter for Daily Updates and News

One out of seven people in the world is a migrant and this number is expected to increase in the coming decades. In California, 25% of our population was born in another country. Migrants face unique health risks in obtaining health services, and many health disparities exist. Despite a growing focus on (im)migration and global health individually, there is a lack of emphasis on the intersection of these topics and the unique health challenges faced by migrants across the globe. Stay connected and updated with the newest findings, events and articles about migration and health by following @migranthealth on Twitter.