Browsing by Author "Blukacz, Alice"

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    The social and health protection of migrants in Chile: qualitative analysis of civil society proposals for constitutional change
    (2023) Esnouf, Sophie; Blukacz, Alice; Obach, Alexandra; Mezones-Holguin, Edward; Espinoza Sepúlveda, Manuel Antonio; DeJong, Jocelyn; Cabieses, Baltica
    Background: A sustained period of social, economic, and political unrest took place during October of 2019 in Chile. As an institutional solution, the “Agreement for Social Peace and the New Constitution” was signed. In this document, most political parties committed to reestablishing peace and public order in Chile, agreeing on the initiation of a constitutional process. To promote participation of civil society actors, the “Popular Initiative for Norms” was enabled. This was a platform where civilians could submit proposals for constitutional norms to be discussed by the Constitutional Convention. We aimed to analyze proposals related to migrants and migrant health. Methods: We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of the proposals. Sixteen of them were related to migrants, and we analyzed their association to health. We also evaluated their link to the Health Goals 2030 set out by the Chilean Ministry of Health and the Global Action Plan 2019–2023 for Promoting the Health of Refugees and Migrants by the World Health Organization. Results: Four main thematic categories were identified: 1) Humans rights of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers; 2) Nationality and regularization of migrants and refugees; 3) Political participation and cultural integration of migrants and refugees; and 4) Specific regulations on slavery and human trafficking. These resonated with broader frameworks established in the Health Goals 2030 (Chile) and the Global Action Plan 2019–2023 for Promoting the Health of Refugees and Migrants by the World Health Organization. Conclusions: The ‘Popular Initiative for Norms’ was a non-binding participatory mechanism. Although the proposals sent through were not guaranteed to be included in the constitutional draft—and despite the final draft being rejected last September 2022—the platform allowed to gain insights into civilian opinions. Our findings showed that there is an incipient yet weak recognition of the rights and situation of migrants in Chile. There was no direct mention of health nor an explicit contemplation of social determinants of health. Despite there being an urgent need to define strategies for migrants’ health in Chile, this study demonstrated that civil awareness and interest are still insufficient.
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    Unequal Access and Use of Health Care Services among Settled Immigrants, Recent Immigrants, and Locals: A Comparative Analysis of a Nationally Representative Survey in Chile
    (2023) Oyarte, Marcela; Cabieses, Baltica; Rada, Isabel; Blukacz, Alice; Espinoza, Manuel; Mezones-Holguin, Edward
    Globally, and particularly in the Latin American region, international migration continues to grow. Access and use of health care services by migrants vary according to their country of origin and residence time. We aimed to compare the access and use of health care services between international migrants (including settled migrants from Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador; Emerging migrants from Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Haiti; and migrants from other countries) and the Chilean population. After performing a secondary data analysis of population-based nationally representative surveys (CASEN 2011-2017), access and use patterns (insurance, complementary insurance, non-consultation, and non-treatment coverage) were described and compared among settled immigrants, recent emerging immigrants, others, and locals. Immigrants had a significantly higher uninsured population compared to locals. Specifically, in CASEN 2017, 19.27% of emerging (95% CI: 15.3-24.1%), 11.79% of settled (95% CI: 10.1-13.7%), and 2.25% of locals (95% CI: 2.1-2.4%) were uninsured. After 2013, settled and recent emerging migrants showed higher percentages of non-consultation. Collaborative and interculturally relevant strategies from human rights and equity perspectives are needed. Initiatives with a particular focus on recent immigrants can contribute to reducing the existing disparities in health care access and use with locals due to lack of insurance and treatment coverage.