Risk Communication for Viral Hepatitis Management Among Migrants

The burden of viral hepatitis is high with huge mortality and morbidity on human population. The increasing migration of people from areas highly prevalent of viral hepatitis poses a unique threat to the healthcare systems of the host nations. The deficient universal standards for screening, vaccination, and treatment of viral hepatitis have therefore made the burden of chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma to increase among migrant populations globally. This study examines the role of risk communication in managing viral hepatitis among migrants at the different levels of pre-departure phase, travel phase, destination phase, interception phase and the return phase. The study concluded on the need for concerted effort by national governments to develop a national communication policy with comprehensive risk communication strategies on viral hepatitis management among migrants.

Multimorbidity Among Migrant and Non-Migrant Ghanaians: The RODAM Study

Objectives: Multimorbidity is a growing public health concern due to the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases, yet information about multimorbidity in low- and middle-income countries and migrant populations is scarce. We aimed to investigate the distribution and patterns of multimorbidity in rural and urban areas in Ghana and Ghanaian migrants in Europe.Methods: The RODAM cross-sectional study included 4,833 participants. Multimorbidity was defined as presence of multiple non-communicable chronic conditions. Patterns were determined from frequent combination of conditions. Prevalence ratios were estimated by logistic regression.Results: Prevalence of multimorbidity was higher in women and in urban Ghana and Europe. We observed a cardiometabolic pattern in all sites as well as circulatory-musculoskeletal and metabolic-musculoskeletal combinations in Ghana. Multimorbidity prevalence ratios were higher in Europe (men 1.47, 95% CI 1.34–1.59, women 1.18, 1.10–1.26) and urban Ghana (men 1.46, 1.31–1.59, women 1.27, 1.19–1.34).Conclusion: Distribution and patterns of multimorbidity differed by sex and site. With a higher burden of multimorbidity in urban areas, prevention strategies should focus on forestalling its increase in rapidly growing rural areas.

HIV surveillance and research for migrant populations: a protocol integrating respondent-driven sampling, case finding, and medicolegal services for Venezuelans living in Colombia (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Epidemiologic research among migrant populations is limited by logistical, methodological, and ethical challenges, but necessary for informing public health and humanitarian programming. OBJECTIVE We describe a methodology to estimate HIV prevalence among Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. METHODS Respondent-driven sampling (RDS), a non-probability sampling method, was selected for attributes of reaching highly networked populations without sampling frames and analytic methods that permit estimation of population parameters. RDS was modified to permit electronic referral of peers via SMS and Whatsapp. Participants complete socio-behavioral surveys and rapid HIV and syphilis screening tests with confirmatory testing. HIV treatment is not available for migrants who have entered Colombia through irregular pathways; thus, medicolegal services integrated into post-test counseling provide staff lawyers and legal assistance to participants diagnosed with HIV or syphilis for sustained access to treatment through the national health system. Case finding is integrated into RDS to allow partner referral. The study is implemented by a local community-based organization providing HIV support services and related legal services for Venezuelans in Colombia. RESULTS Data collection launched in four cities in July and August 2021. As of November 2021, 3,105 of the target 6,100 participants were enrolled. CONCLUSIONS Tailored methods that combine community-led efforts with innovations in sampling and linkage to care can aid in advancing health research for migrant and displaced populations. Worldwide trends in displacement and migration underscore the value of improved methods for translation to humanitarian and public health programming.

A study on community expectation for cooperative behaviour among locals and migrants: a case study of an Okinawan village, Japan

Despite the increasing need for local and migrant populations to cooperate in natural resource governance, little attention has been paid to community contexts that influence individual cooperative behavioural choices among them. The present study demonstrates this influence through quantitative and qualitative data obtained in Shiraho village, Okinawa, Japan. Externalised cooperative behaviour was significantly different between locals and migrants, and the residents’ location in the social network was related to the level of cooperation, even though they had similar individual cooperative preferences. We find that people with dense social ties participate in community cooperation more than others, and that residents practise their cooperative behaviour in a way that fits community expectations: which was influenced by age and birth origin. Understanding the social context that guides individual behaviour for natural resource governance in a time when residential fluidity may keep increasing has relevance to other communities.

Socio-demographic Determinants of Low Physical Activity in Peruvian Adults: Results of a Population-based Survey Performed in 2017-2018

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of low physical activity (PA) in Peruvian adults and to identify associated factors.Methods: An analytical study was performed using data from the 2017-2018 Nutritional Food Surveillance by Life Stages survey. The outcome variable was low PA (yes or no), assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short form. Prevalence ratios were estimated as a measure of association.Results: Among the 1045 persons included in the analysis, the age-standardized prevalence of low PA was 61.9%. The adjusted model showed that being female and migrating from a rural to an urban area in the last 5 years were associated with a higher probability of having low PA than males and individuals who had not migrated, while residing in rural highlands and jungle areas was associated with a reduced probability of having low PA compared to people residing in other geographic domains.Conclusions: Being a female and migration from a rural to an urban area in the last 5 years were associated with a higher likelihood of having low PA. Therefore, promotion and prevention strategies related to PA are required, especially in the female and migrant populations.