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Failures of US Health Care System for Pregnant Asylum Seekers

Migrant Clinicians Network's white paper, “Failures of US Health Care System for Pregnant Asylum Seekers,” outlines how pregnant asylum seekers who have been released into the US to await their asylum hearing face extreme obstacles to secure prenatal care, despite their legal presence within the country.

Without prenatal care, infants will not have the benefit of early screening and treatment for potentially life-threatening diseases and screening for congenital abnormalities, while in utero. Additionally, pregnancies without prenatal care may result in excess utilization of emergency services which produces unforeseen strain on the health care system.

Knowledge of prenatal care needs, cost, lack of insurance, transportation, refusal by health centers, and fear are delineated as key barriers for pregnant asylum seekers from accessing the care they need during their pregnancy.

Press contact: Claire Hutkins Seda, cseda@migrantclinician.org

Failures of US Health Care System for Pregnant Asylum Seekers

Migrant Clinicians Network's white paper, “Failures of US Health Care System for Pregnant Asylum Seekers,” outlines how pregnant asylum seekers who have been released into the US to await their asylum hearing face extreme obstacles to secure prenatal care, despite their legal presence within the country.

Without prenatal care, infants will not have the benefit of early screening and treatment for potentially life-threatening diseases and screening for congenital abnormalities, while in utero. Additionally, pregnancies without prenatal care may result in excess utilization of emergency services which produces unforeseen strain on the health care system.

Knowledge of prenatal care needs, cost, lack of insurance, transportation, refusal by health centers, and fear are delineated as key barriers for pregnant asylum seekers from accessing the care they need during their pregnancy.

Press contact: Claire Hutkins Seda, cseda@migrantclinician.org


This colorful vaccine calendar comic gives low-literacy information on vaccines and some information on why adults need immunizations, too. Available in high resolution to download and print into poster size.


This colorful vaccine calendar comic gives low-literacy information on vaccines and some information on why adults need immunizations, too. Available in high resolution to download and print into poster size.

 

This new poll, taken by Migrant Clinicians Network in January and February 2018, reflected the experiences of clinical staff from 26 states across the country. Respondents came from every corner of the clinic; occupations listed include Physician, Executive Director, Dental Assistant, Outreach Specialist, Therapist, Community Health Worker, Registered Nurse, and 24 other occupations. The poll follows up on MCN’s 2017 poll, in which 63 percent of respondents indicated that immigrant and mobile patients’ attitudes and feelings toward health care access had changed.

This new poll, taken by Migrant Clinicians Network in January and February 2018, reflected the experiences of clinical staff from 26 states across the country. Respondents came from every corner of the clinic; occupations listed include Physician, Executive Director, Dental Assistant, Outreach Specialist, Therapist, Community Health Worker, Registered Nurse, and 24 other occupations. The poll follows up on MCN’s 2017 poll, in which 63 percent of respondents indicated that immigrant and mobile patients’ attitudes and feelings toward health care access had changed.

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"Abstract: Unathorized (undocumented) immigrants are less likely than other residents of the United States to have health insurance. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has long supported a basic health care package for all women living within the United States without regard to their country of origin or documentation. Providing access to qualify health care for unauthorized immigrants and their children, who often were born in the United States and have U.S. citizenship, is essential to improving the nation's publc health."

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Migrant Clinicians Network, Inc. (MCN) will work during the next two years to engage members of our clinical network and all relevant stakeholders to advance health justice for the mobile poor. Our advocacy and education priorities focus on safe and legal entry into the United States, as well as strong and equal protection for workers in all occupations. Advancement in these areas creates the greatest opportunity for all to access high-quality, affordable healthcare. 

  • Comprehensive Immigration Reform
  • Access to Health Care
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Published July 15, 2014

MCN holds the position that immigrant children fleeing violence in their home countries must receive priority consideration for their safety and health. We have provided several links with additional resources on this issue.

A directory of organizations working to promote health and prevent HIV/AIDS in California, Florida, North Carolina, Oregon, and Texas.

 

Provided by Farmworker Justice

This webinar is the sixth in a series of seven in our Clinician Orienatation to Migration Health.

DATE RECORDED: Wednesday, July 17, 2013
PRESENTED BY: Candace Kugel, FNP, CNM, Specialist in Clinical Systems & Women's Health and Melissa Bailey, Executive Director of North Carolina Field, Inc.

To view the recorded version of this webinar, click here.

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The Occupational Health and Safety Resource Center is a virtual repository of Spanish educational materials, data sources, and links to bilingual informational websites on occupational health and safety issues related to agricultural work. It also contains an ample list of national and state agencies that have produced materials in Spanish for farmworkers’ health-related problems.

MCNs own Deliana Garcia helped in being a part of the advisory committee to this resource center.

What is the objective?  To facilitate a central access point to high quality Spanish educational materials on agricultural occupational health and safety issues for people conducting work on health promotion and prevention activities and on workers’ rights and problems related to agricultural work.

Who are the target audiences? Health-outreach workers (promotores), community advocates, health providers, contractors/employers, farmworkers and their families, and others interested in the health and safety issues of agricultural workers.

What areas are included? The materials cover five key relevant areas: 1) Farmworkers’ rights; 2) Injury prevention; 3) Respiratory illnesses; 4) Heat illnesses; and 5) Pesticide exposure.

How did we do it? To develop the Virtual Resource Center, the process entailed:

  • Asset mapping of educational, informational and research materials available in Spanish related to the five mentioned areas.
  • Selection of materials using the following criteria: accurate information, culturally and linguistically adequate (including literacy level), relevant to health area, and visually acceptable quality.
  • Insertion of resources into an excel format under five different categories, including source, type of material, and description of its content.

Development of new materials: to complement the existing educational resources, we developed a “Promotores Training Manual on Occupational Health and Safety of Agricultural Workers”.  Based on an ethnographic framework, the manual presents the perspective of agricultural workers on the five mentioned areas (their stories) and provides community health workers with tools on how to conduct prevention and promotion activities. It also refers them to existing resources.  We also produced a series of Spanish and selected indigenous languages Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on these areas.

Sara A. Quandt, PhD, Kristen L. Kucera, PhD, Courtney Haynes, MS, Bradley G. Klein, PhD, Ricky Langley, MD, Michael Agnew, PhD, Jeffrey L. Levin, MD, Timothy Howard, PhD, and Maury A. Nussbaum, PhD

Background Workers in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (AgFF) sector experience exposures directly related to the work itself, as well as the physical environment in which the work occurs. Health outcomes vary from immediate to delayed, and from acute to chronic.

Methods We reviewed existing literature on the health outcomes of work in the AgFF sector and identified areas where further research is needed to understand the impact of these exposures on immigrant Latino workers in the southeastern US.

Results Outcomes related to specific body systems (e.g., musculoskeletal, respiratory) as well as particular exposure sources (e.g., pesticides, noise) were reviewed. The most extensive evidence exists for agriculture, with a particular focus on chemical exposures. Little research in the southeastern US has examined health outcomes of exposures of immigrant workers in forestry or fisheries.

Conclusion As the AgFF labor force includes a growing number of Latino immigrants, more research is needed to characterize a broad range of exposures and health outcomes experienced by this population, particularly in forestry and fisheries.

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Arthur L. Frank, MD, PhD, Amy K. Liebman, MPH, MA, Bobbi Ryder, BA, Maria Weir, MAA, MPH, and Thomas A. Arcury, PhD

 

 

Background The Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery (AgFF) Sector workforce in the
US is comprised primarily of Latino immigrants. Health care access for these workers
is limited and increases health disparities.

Background The Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery (AgFF) Sector workforce in theUS is comprised primarily of Latino immigrants. Health care access for these workersis limited and increases health disparities.

 

Methods This article addresses health care access for immigrant workers in the AgFF Sector, and the workforce providing care to these workers.

 

Contents Immigrant workers bear a disproportionate burden of poverty and ill health and additionally face significant occupational hazards. AgFF laborers largely are uninsured, ineligible for benefits, and unable to afford health services. The new Affordable Care Act will likely not benefit such individuals. Community and Migrant Health Centers (C/MHCs) are the frontline of health care access for immigrant AgFF workers.C/MHCs offer discounted health services that are tailored to meet the special needs of their underserved clientele. C/MHCs struggle, however, with a shortage of primary care providers and staff prepared to treat occupational illness and injury among AgFF workers. A number of programs across the US aim to increase the number of primary care physicians and care givers trained in occupational health at C/MHCs. While such programs are beneficial, substantial action is needed at the national level to strengthen and expand the C/MHC system and to establish widely Medical Home models and Accountable Care Organizations. System-wide policy changes alone have the potential to reduce and eliminate the rampant health disparities experienced by the immigrant workers who sustain the vital Agricultural, Forestry, and Fishery sector in the US. Am. J. Ind. Med.

 

By Amy K. Liebman, MPA, MA, Melinda F. Wiggins, MTS, Clermont Fraser, JD, Jeffrey Levin, MD, MSPH, Jill Sidebottom, PhD, and Thomas A. Arcury, PhD

Background Immigrant workers make up an important portion of the hired workforce inthe Agricultural, Forestry and Fishing (AgFF) sector, one of the most hazardous industrysectors in the US. Despite the inherent dangers associated with this sector, workerprotection is limited.

Methods This article describes the current occupational health and safety policies andregulatory standards in theAgFF sector and underscores the regulatory exceptions and limitationsin worker protections. Immigration policies and their effects on worker health and safety arealso discussed. Emphasis is placed on policies and practices in the Southeastern US.

Results Worker protection in the AgFF sector is limited. Regulatory protections are generallyweaker than other industrial sectors and enforcement of existing regulations is woefullyinadequate. The vulnerability of the AgFF workforce is magnified by worker immigrationstatus. Agricultural workers in particular are affected by a long history of “exceptionalism”under the law as many regulatory protections specifically exclude this workforce.

Conclusions A vulnerable workforce and high-hazard industries require regulatoryprotections that, at a minimum, are provided to workers in other industries. A systematicpolicy approach to strengthen occupational safety and health in the AgFF sector mustaddress both immigration policy and worker protection regulations.

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This webinar is the third in a series of seven in our Clinician Orienatation to Migration Health.

DATE RECORDED: Wednesday, April 17, 2013
PRESENTED BY: Edward Zuroweste, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Migrant Clinicians Network

To view the recorded version of this webinar, click here.

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This webinar is the second in a series of seven in our Clinician Orientation to Migration Health.

DATE RECORDED: Wednesday, March 13, 2013
PRESENTED BY: Jennie McLaurin, MD, MPH, Specialist in Child and Migrant Health, Migrant Clinicians Network

To view the recorded version of this webinar, click here.

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This webinar is the first in a series of seven in our Clinician Orienatation to Migration Health.

DATE RECORDED: Wednesday, February 13, 2013
PRESENTED BY: Deliana Garcia, MA, International Research and Development, Migrant Clinicians Network

To view the recorded version of this webinar, click here.

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The Superior Court in the State of Delaware ruled that an undocumented worker who had been deported was entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits to cover medical costs incurred due to an injury sustained on the job while in the US.

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This resource for Outreach Programs provides ideas and resources for how to do outreach in an anti-immigrant climate by addressing specific barriers, providing strategies, and listing resources.It is provided by Health Outreach Partners in collaboration with Quincy Community Health Center, Lorena Sprager and Associates, Migrant Legal Action Program, and attendees from the 2011 and 2012 Western Migrant Stream Forums (WMSF).

Summary of the June 2012 article from the New York Times on American attitudes toward immigration.

An April 2012 article from the Arizona Republic citing poll data on attitudes toward immigration in the state.

The Applied Research Center released this report offering the first national data available on the perilous intersection of immigration enforcement and the child welfare system. ARC's Investigative Research package includes a poignant video and Colorlines.com articles which bring to life the story of one family trying desperately to stay together.

Issue Brief Co-Authored by Health Outreach Partners and the Kaiser Family Foundation
Information provided by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured

Publication Number: 8249
Publish Date: 2011-10-27

This brief examines how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may impact immigrant families based on data collected from Outreach/Eligibility Workers in four regions of the country and supported by needs data from several health outreach programs around the country.  You will note that the pivotal role of Community Health Centers (CHCs)  to connect immigrant families to coverage and care is highlighted.  Migrant Health Centers and Homeless Health Centers are specifically cited because of their history of pioneering and strengthening many of the models and strategies that will be needed to connect immigrant families to health coverage and care come 2014.

Download report here.

The Health Protection Agency's role is to provide an integrated approach to protecting UK public health through the provision of support and advice to the NHS, local authorities, emergency services, other arms length bodies, the Department of Health and the devolved administrations.

Through radiomexicointernacional, listen to unique programming to meet and know about Mexico. www.radiomexicointernacional.imer.gob.mx transmits content on a wide variety of topics in Spanish, English and French, and some Indian languages. With rich programming topics, languages and Mexican music, resurfaces Radio Mexico International, now via internet.

Mobile Voices (VozMob) is a platform for immigrant workers and / or low income can create stories about their lives and communities directly from their mobile phones. Each week the team discusses popular media stories, develops and shares knowledge, designs the system, and creates training tools. The communication equipment is made popular by day laborers, domestic workers, and youth volunteers have taken very seriously the role of writing their own history. We also meet every week at USC to develop research on the project.

A production from American Radio Works that focuses on the impact of Latino immigration in America. It's sinking in among Americans that the nation's largest wave of immigration did not happen a century ago. It's happening now. About 35 million of us were born in other countries. That's one in eight residents of the United States. Immigrants come from all over the globe, but Latino immigration is remaking the country. And not just on the coasts and in the Southwest.

Order it by calling NCFH, Inc. at 1-800-531-5120

Provides summaries and contact information for major Federal programs and national organizations that serve migrant farmworkers and their families. It can be used as a tool for increasing coordination among programs and organizations that serve the same client population.  This resource was created in 2003 and there have been no updates since then.  Some of the information may be out-of-date, but the majority is still useful information for those seeking resources for migrant and seasonal farmworkers. 

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Provides and promotes continuity of Head Start services to migrant children and their families along the East Coast of the United States. Great links! 4245 North Fairfax Drive, 8th Floor, Arlington, VA 22203, Telephone: 703-243-7522