Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Preface
- Part One Life chances
- Part Two Lifestyle challenges
- Part Three Social and community networks
- Part Four Employment and housing
- Part Five Supporting people at the edge of the community
- Part Six The socio-political environment
- Conclusion
- Index
Twenty-One - Health and well-being of refugees and migrants within a politically contested environment
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2022
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Preface
- Part One Life chances
- Part Two Lifestyle challenges
- Part Three Social and community networks
- Part Four Employment and housing
- Part Five Supporting people at the edge of the community
- Part Six The socio-political environment
- Conclusion
- Index
Summary
Introduction
The chapters in this volume have demonstrated how health and wellbeing can be impacted by a number of wider societal contexts affecting the daily lives of individuals, families and communities. Those arriving as newcomers to the UK are likely to have differing experiences of what has been described as the context of reception (Portes and Rumbaut, 2006) as they make lives for themselves in a new country. The heterogeneity of such experiences is likely to reflect the diversity of the demographic make-up of those who seek to make the UK their home, whether that is on a temporary or a permanent basis. Both the contexts of departure and the contexts of reception will have an influence over an individual migrant's experience of migration and will impact upon the daily life of a migrant in the country of destination.
Contexts of departure are likely to be affected by: the circumstances leading up to the decision to migrate; motivations for making the decision to leave; the year of departure; the country of origin; age and place on the life cycle on departure; socio-economic background; education; and the degree to which the decision to leave was ‘forced’ or ‘voluntary’ (or somewhere on a continuum). The context of reception into which the newly arrived migrant will find him/herself will similarly depend on: gender; age and place on the life cycle; the experience of the immigration system; experience in the local area of ‘settlement’ (urban, rural, extent to which the area is welcoming to newcomers); wider discourse (eg media) around (im)migration and/or coverage of events in the country of origin; experience in the labour market; extent to which the newcomer is familiar with the local language; and sociocultural-political circumstances in the country of destination.
All the factors just cited can have an impact upon the health and well-being of a migrant. Due to the nature of his/her experience in the country of origin and an immigration status that is likely to dominate so many aspects of his/her life, refugees and migrants will frequently be ‘fine-tuned’ to the socio-political-cultural context in the country of destination in a way that those whose place of birth grants them a secure, unquestionable right to reside in the country have the luxury of ignoring.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Social Determinants of HealthAn Interdisciplinary Approach to Social Inequality and Wellbeing, pp. 299 - 310Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2017