Healthcare utilization among migrants to the UK: cross-sectional analysis of two national surveys.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To contribute objective evidence on health care utilization among migrants to the UK to inform policy and service planning.

Methods

We analysed data from Understanding Society, a household survey with fieldwork from 2015 to 2017, and the European Health Interview Survey with data collected between 2013 and 2014. We explored health service utilization among migrants to the UK across primary care, inpatient admissions and maternity care, outpatient care, mental health, dental care and physiotherapy. We adjusted for age, sex, long-term health conditions and time since moving to the UK.

Results

Health care utilization among migrants to the UK was lower than utilization among the UK-born population for all health care dimensions except inpatient admissions for childbirth; odds ratio (95%CI) range 0.58 (0.50-0.68) for dental care to 0.88 (0.78-0.98) for primary care). After adjusting for differences in age and self-reported health, these differences were no longer observed, except for dental care (odds ratio 0.57, 95%CI 0.49-0.66, P?ConclusionsThis study finds that newly arrived migrants tend to utilize less health care than the UK population and that this pattern was at least partly explained by better health, and younger age. Our findings contribute nationally representative evidence to inform public debate and decision-making on migration and health.

SUBMITTER: Saunders CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7734958 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature