Health and Welfare of Immigrants: NODE UK|Japan webinar​

Date and venue:

May 25th 2022,18:00-19:30 JST /10:00-11:30 BST

​Online via Zoom

Speakers:

Laurence Lessard-Phillips (Senior Research Fellow, University of Birmingham, UK)

Jenny Phillimore (Professor of Migration and Superdiversity, University of Birmingham, UK)

Russell Miller (Visiting Researcher, The University of Tokyo)

Discussant:

Yasushi Katsuma (Professor of International Studies, Waseda University)

“THEY JUST LEFT ME” ASYLUM SEEKERS, HEALTH, AND ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE IN INSTITUTIONAL ACCOMMODATION

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Laurence Lessard-Phillips (Senior Research Fellow, University of Birmingham, UK)

Jenny Phillimore (Professor of Migration and Superdiversity, University of Birmingham, UK)

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In this presentation, we will highlight the main results from a report based on a mixed methods study looking at health and access to healthcare of asylum seekers in temporary accommodation (hotels, barracks) in the UK during the pandemic. Using data from clinic consultations carried out by our collaborator Doctors of the World UK, we investigate the health status of asylum seekers, and the issues of access that they experienced. We find that those living in temporary accommodation struggled to access healthcare including essential medications, emergency care and treatment for chronic conditions. We conclude by making policy recommendations regarding the housing and health access of asylum seekers in the UK.

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BIG DATA ON THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS: THE NEXT STEP IN UNDERSTANDING THE MIGRANT EXPERIENCE IN JAPAN?

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Russell Miller (Visiting Researcher, The University of Tokyo)

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In my presentation, I will explore how public health research has used big data methodology to assess migrant health and the limitations of these methods in Japan. During the global COVID-19 pandemic, machine learning was used to predict health outcomes for ethnic minorities. However, publishing coronavirus infection counts for foreign nationals in Japan has been controversial with government sources discontinued or obfuscated. Our preliminary, unadjusted findings suggest elevated infection rates among non-Japanese. To more concretely generalize about the migrant experience in Japan, our team is developing an algorithm using social determinants of health to predict mortality from "the new coronavirus infection”, or COVID-19.

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NODE UK|Japan is a research network set up by the University of Birmingham’s Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRIS) and Waseda University’s Institute of Asian Migrations (IAM) to undertake comparative research exploring old and new migrations and processes of diversification in UK and Japan The network is funded by the UK’s ESRC and the Japan Foundation. the NODE UK|Japan network is working to create a sustainable network of academics.