Health-Related Disparities among Migrant Children at School Entry in Germany. How does the Definition of Migration Status Matter?
Background: Migration background is known to be an important risk factor for a number of medical outcomes. Still, relatively little is known about the epidemiologic relevance of different definitions of migration status. Methods: Data from 5250 school entry examinations spanning three consecutive years (2015-2017) were gathered from the Public Health Department in Halle, Germany. Data were stratified according to six different migration statuses and evaluated for differences in health service utilization and developmental outcomes. Results: Compared to non-migrant children, migrant children have a lower utilization of preventative services, and higher frequencies of developmental delays. Children with first-generation migration background consistently show results worse than all others, while children with one-sided second-generation migration background show results similar to those of their non-migrant peers. These findings are not substantially altered by adjustment for social status. Conclusions: Children with first-generation migration background should receive special attention in school entry examinations, since they constitute a group with consistently higher health risks compared to other groups of preschoolers.
['Führer|Amand|A|0000-0002-8637-5692', 'Tiller|Daniel|D|', 'Brzoska|Patrick|P|', 'Korn|Marie|M|', 'Gröger|Christine|C|', 'Wienke|Andreas|A|0000-0001-5871-2586']
D002648:Child D002675:Child, Preschool D005260:Female D005858:Germany D054624:Health Status Disparities D006801:Humans D008297:Male D012307:Risk Factors D012574:Schools D012959:Socioeconomic Factors D014171:Transients and Migrants
migration background school entry examination first-generation migration background biopolitics one-sided migration background