Rural Non-migrants Research Articles

The effect of internal migration, individual and contextual characteristics on contraceptive use among Nigerian women

ABSTRACTWe investigated the relation of internal migration to contraceptive use and adjusted for individual and contextual (community) characteristics. Multilevel logistic regression models were fitted to nationally representative data of 28,876 women from 884 communities in Nigeria. Only about one out of every 10 women (10.4%) currently used a contraceptive method. Contraceptive prevalence according to the migration status were rural–urban (12.5%), urban–rural (13.8%), rural nonmigrants (6.2%) and urban nonmigrants (17.1%). The relationship between internal migration and contraceptive use was fully explained by individual and community characteristics. Programs aimed at increasing contraceptive prevalence should address contextual challenges alongside socioeconomic factors.

Prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms in relation to rural-to-urban migration in India: a cross-sectional study.

BackgroundMigration is a major life event, which may also be a risk factor for depression. However, little is known regarding the relationship between these phenomena in low and middle income settings. This study explores the frequency and severity of depressive symptoms among rural-to-urban migrants compared to permanent rural and to urban residents in India.MethodsWe assessed 884 subjects; urban non-migrants (n = 159), urban migrants (n = 461) and rural non-migrants (n = 264) in Hyderabad, India, in 2009–2010. The frequency and severity of depressive symptoms was assessed with the validated Telugu version of the Brief Patient Health Questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association between the presence of depressive symptoms and migration status while adjusting for gender, age and several sociodemographic and health-related parameters using Stata v.12.ResultsThe prevalence of mild to severe depressive symptoms was higher in women (11.3, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 8.3–14.3 %) compared to men (5.8 %, 95 % CI 3.7–7.9 %). Rural residents reported the highest prevalence of mild to severe depressive symptoms (women: 16.7 %, 95 % CI 9.8–23.5 %; men: 8.0 %, 95 % CI 3.7–12.3 %). Among women, the lowest prevalence was reported by migrants (8.2 %, 95 % CI 4.6–11.9 %). Among men, prevalence was similar in migrants (5.0 %, 95 % CI 2.2–7.7 %) and urban residents (3.9 %, 95 % CI 0–8.3 %). Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed no evidence for increased prevalence of mild to severe depressive symptoms among migrants compared to either rural or urban residents.ConclusionsThere was no evidence for an increased prevalence of mild to severe depressive symptoms among rural-urban migrants compared to rural or urban residents.

Migration, Relative Deprivation, and Psychological Well-Being in China

This article investigates how rural-to-urban migration influences migrants’ perception of relative deprivation, and how relative deprivation mediates the effects of migration on psychological well-being in China. During the past three decades, China has experienced large-scale rural-to-urban migration. Because of the institutional barriers to their permanent settlement in cities, Chinese migrants are often “sojourners” in cities and maintain close bonds with their sending communities; return migration is common. It is therefore unclear to what extent current and return migrants use an urban or rural frame of reference when they assess their social positions and how that assessment influences their psychological well-being. The data come from the 2012 China Labor Dynamics Survey, a nationally representative survey. The analytical sample consists of 13,204 individuals. The positive aspect of psychological well-being is measured by happiness and the negative aspect is measured by the frequency of emotional problems affecting role functioning. Relative deprivation is indexed by two variables: subjective position on a 10-rung social ladder and perceived fairness of current living standard. The findings suggest that after moving to cities, migrants may have adopted an urban frame of reference and suffered institutional exclusion and personal discrimination. Consequently, current migrants are more likely to perceive relative deprivation than both rural and urban nonmigrants of similar characteristics. The urban frame of reference had lingering effects after migrants returned to rural areas, so that return migrants reported more relative deprivation than their rural counterparts. The higher level of relative derivation perceived by migrants and return migrants contributed to their lower levels of happiness, as compared with urban and rural nonmigrants. There is little evidence that relative deprivation mediates the relationship between migration and the frequency of emotional problems affecting role functioning. This study theorizes and provides evidence for a previously overlooked psychosocial pathway between migration and psychological well-being.

Rural-urban residence, modernism and fertility: a study of Mwanza region, Tanzania

The aim of this study is to assess the effect of rural-urban residence and modernization on fertility preference among urban female migrants versus rural female non-migrants. The specific objective is to assess the impact of the amount and timing of urban residential experience on six dimensions of modernism in attitudes and behaviour. A sample of 397 women of the reproductive age living in Mwanza region was interviewed in 2012. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and focus group discussions. Data analysis technique employed was multivariate using SPSS version 16.0 and ethnograph softwares for quantitative and qualitative data respectively. Results show that scores on modernism indices were consistently higher for women with urban residential experience. Women who migrated from villages to the city reported attitudes and behaviours more modern than women with no urban residential experience. The study concludes that the change from traditional to modern values, norms and behaviours among female migrants came from gaining an urban experience. Thus recommending that women’s migration empowerment is crucial to fertility regulation in Tanzania.

The effect of rural-to-urban migration on renal function in an Indian population: cross-sectional data from the Hyderabad arm of the Indian Migration Study

BackgroundUrban migration is associated with an increased risk of hypertension, obesity and diabetes in Indian migrants. This study assessed the relationship between internal migration and renal function in the Hyderabad arm of the Indian Migration Study.MethodsWe assessed 841 subjects; urban non-migrants (n = 158), urban migrants (n = 424) and rural non-migrants (n = 259). Muscle mass was ascertained from DXA scanning. We derived urban life years for urban migrants and rural non-migrants. Multivariable linear regression was used to examine the association between tertiles of urban life years and 4-variable MDRD eGFR using Stata 11.ResultsMean eGFR was lower in urban non-migrants and urban migrants compared to rural non-migrants. The prevalence of CKD 3-5 was higher in the rural non-migrant population (5.0%) than in the urban non-migrant populations (2.5%) due to a negatively skewed distribution of eGFR in rural non-migrants. As urban life years increased, eGFR declined (p = 0.008) though there was no obvious dose response effect. After adjustment for muscle mass, the association was attenuated and the trend was consistent with chance (p = 0.08). Further adjustment for vascular risk factors weakened the association to a small degree (p = 0.11).ConclusionsThe high prevalence of reduced eGFR in rural areas requires further research. Urbanization was associated with reduced eGFR. This association appears mostly to be due to higher muscle mass with a small contribution from adverse vascular disease risk factors.

Dietary Intake and Rural-Urban Migration in India: A Cross-Sectional Study

BackgroundMigration from rural areas of India contributes to urbanisation and lifestyle change, and dietary changes may increase the risk of obesity and chronic diseases. We tested the hypothesis that rural-to-urban migrants have different macronutrient and food group intake to rural non-migrants, and that migrants have a diet more similar to urban non-migrants.Methods and findingsThe diets of migrants of rural origin, their rural dwelling sibs, and those of urban origin together with their urban dwelling sibs were assessed by an interviewer-administered semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. A total of 6,509 participants were included. Median energy intake in the rural, migrant and urban groups was 2731, 3078, and 3224 kcal respectively for men, and 2153, 2504, and 2644 kcal for women (p<0.001). A similar trend was seen for overall intake of fat, protein and carbohydrates (p<0.001), though differences in the proportion of energy from these nutrients were <2%. Migrant and urban participants reported up to 80% higher fruit and vegetable intake than rural participants (p<0.001), and up to 35% higher sugar intake (p<0.001). Meat and dairy intake were higher in migrant and urban participants than rural participants (p<0.001), but varied by region. Sibling-pair analyses confirmed these results. There was no evidence of associations with time in urban area.ConclusionsRural to urban migration appears to be associated with both positive (higher fruit and vegetables intake) and negative (higher energy and fat intake) dietary changes. These changes may be of relevance to cardiovascular health and warrant public health interventions.

Is There an Urban Advantage in Child Survival in Sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence From 18 Countries in the 1990s

Evidence of higher child mortality of rural-to-urban migrants compared with urban nonmigrants is growing. However, less attention has been paid to comparing the situation of the same families before and after they migrate with the situation of urban-to-rural migrants. We use DHS data from 18 African countries to compare child mortality rates of six groups based on their mothers' migration status: rural nonmigrants; urban nonmigrants; rural-to-urban migrants before and after they migrate; and urban-to-rural migrants before and after they migrate. The results show that rural-to-urban migrants had, on average, lower child mortality before they migrated than rural nonmigrants, and that their mortality levels dropped further after they arrived in urban areas. We found no systematic evidence of higher child mortality for rural-to-urban migrants compared with urban nonmigrants. Urban-to-rural migrants had higher mortality in the urban areas, and their move to rural areas appeared advantageous because they experienced lower or similar child mortality after living in rural areas. After we control for known demographic and socioeconomic correlates of under-5 mortality, the urban advantage is greatly reduced and sometimes reversed. The results suggest that it may not be necessarily the place of residence that matters for child survival but, rather, access to services and economic opportunities.

The effect of rural-to-urban migration on obesity and diabetes in India: a cross-sectional study.

Migration from rural areas of India contributes to urbanisation and may increase the risk of obesity and diabetes. We tested the hypotheses that rural-to-urban migrants have a higher prevalence of obesity and diabetes than rural nonmigrants, that migrants would have an intermediate prevalence of obesity and diabetes compared with life-long urban and rural dwellers, and that longer time since migration would be associated with a higher prevalence of obesity and of diabetes. The place of origin of people working in factories in north, central, and south India was identified. Migrants of rural origin, their rural dwelling sibs, and those of urban origin together with their urban dwelling sibs were assessed by interview, examination, and fasting blood samples. Obesity, diabetes, and other cardiovascular risk factors were compared. A total of 6,510 participants (42% women) were recruited. Among urban, migrant, and rural men the age- and factory-adjusted percentages classified as obese (body mass index [BMI] >25 kg/m(2)) were 41.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 39.1-44.7), 37.8% (95% CI 35.0-40.6), and 19.0% (95% CI 17.0-21.0), respectively, and as diabetic were 13.5% (95% CI 11.6-15.4), 14.3% (95% CI 12.2-16.4), and 6.2% (95% CI 5.0-7.4), respectively. Findings for women showed similar patterns. Rural men had lower blood pressure, lipids, and fasting blood glucose than urban and migrant men, whereas no differences were seen in women. Among migrant men, but not women, there was weak evidence for a lower prevalence of both diabetes and obesity among more recent (</=10 y) migrants. Migration into urban areas is associated with increases in obesity, which drive other risk factor changes. Migrants have adopted modes of life that put them at similar risk to the urban population. Gender differences in some risk factors by place of origin are unexpected and require further exploration. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.

Leaving the Countryside

Depopulation is considered a problem for rural societies because it depletes the countryside of human capital and symbolizes the decay of the rural. In this article, however, rural-to-urban migration is analysed from the perspective of the rural migrants rather than from that of the rural societies: Does rural-to-urban migration represent a problem for the individual migrants in terms of the long-term effects of migration? This research question is addressed by assessing rural migrants’ long-term achievement in terms of economic and cultural capital compared to rural non-migrants. The longitudinal approach is made possible by analysis of microlevel data from Norwegian censuses and the National Migration Register. The links between geographical and social mobility for the entire Norwegian rural birth cohort of 1965 ( n= 9081) during a time-span of 30 years are then traced. Previous research has produced mixed results regarding the long-term effects of migration, which seemingly depend on data sources, methods and the national context of the respective studies. This article suggests that migrants from rural areas in Norway on average gain higher economic and cultural capital resources than non-migrants. However, these rewards of rural-to-urban migration differ substantially between migrants from different factions in the rural class structure.

Rural-Urban Migration and Reproductive Behavior in Guatemala

Guatemala has the highest fertility of any country in Latin America, and it is also the least urbanized. Projected rural-urban migration will shift more of Guatemala's population from rural areas into towns and cities. This article uses retrospective life-history data collected in migrant origin and destination areas in Guatemala to compare the fertility of rural-urban migrant women to that of rural and urban nonmigrants. Results from discrete-time hazard regression models of union formation, first birth, and third and higher parity births indicate that delayed marriage while still in rural areas, and the rapid adoption of urban fertility practices after migration, result in intermediate migrant fertility that is closer to that of urban natives than rural nonmigrants. If current patterns are any guide to the future, the redistribution of population from high fertility rural areas to towns and cities in Guatemala will accelerate the decline in aggregate fertility beyond what would have resulted from declines in rural and urban fertility alone.

The impact of rural-urban migration on under-two mortality in India.

This paper examines the impact of rural-urban migration on under-two mortality in India, using data from the 1992/93 Indian National Family Health Survey. Multilevel logistic models are fitted for mortality in three age groups: neonatal, early post-neonatal, and late post-neonatal and toddler. Migration status was not a significant determinant of mortality in any of the three age groups. Further analysis shows that a relationship between migration status and mortality exists when socioeconomic and health utilization variables are omitted from the models. The relationship between migration and mortality is thus explained by differences in socioeconomic status and use of health services between rural-urban migrant and nonmigrant groups. The selectivity of rural-urban migrants on socioeconomic characteristics creates mortality differentials between rural-urban migrants and rural non-migrants. Problems faced by migrants in assimilating into urban societies create mortality differentials between rural-urban migrants and urban non-migrants. These results highlight the need to target migrants in the provision of health services, and demonstrate that rural areas continue to have the highest levels of infant-child mortality. Further research is needed to understand the health care needs of rural-urban migrants in order to inform the provision of appropriate health care.

The effect of female migration on infant and child survival in Uganda

This article uses data from the 1996 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey to examine whether migration of women improves the survival chances of their children to age five. We expand on prior research by testing not only the hypothesized positive effect of rural-urban migration, but also the effects of other migration stream behaviours on child survival. Results show that up to 10% of children die before age five and within-group differences in mortality exist among urban and rural children depending on their mother's migration status. Only urban-urban migration was significantly related to child survival, compared to rural non-migrants, after controlling for other factors, although other streams of migration (rural-urban, urban-rural, rural-rural) were positively related to child survival. Generally, migration explains a small component of the variance in child survival. Several other factors, including parents' education, household size, household headship, mother's age at birth, duration of breastfeeding, and place of delivery have a significant predictive power on child survival.

Mastering change: epidemiological and case studies in Senegal, West Africa

While it has often been assumed that persons exposed to rapid social change incur a risk to their mental health, research results have been inconsistent. The authors found that 269 urban migrants in Senegal, West Africa, did not demonstrate worse mental health than did 300 rural nonmigrants. Case studies suggest that outcome is determined not by change per se but by social contingencies which modify the situations, as well as by personal assets which individuals bring with them. Critical factors include the persistence of familiar cultural forms within the new environment and skills such as literacy and the ability to creatively integrate elements of the old and new cultures.

Rural—Urban Migration: Who Comes, Who Stays, Who Returns? The Case of Bogotá, Columbia, 1929–1968

The characteristics of rural urban migrants arriving over the 1929-68 period in Bogota, Colombia were examined, focusing on male migrants and the effect of migrant selectivity over time on the educational and occupational levels of Bogota and the predominantly rural region where most migrants to Bogota originate. Data were obtained primarily from a stratified (by social class) random sample of 3579 men aged 15-64 living in Bogota in September 1968 who were interviewed briefly to determine their age, place of birth, age at arrival to Bogota (for migrants only), occupation, and marital status. A subsample of 871 married men, age 20-54 years, further stratified by migratory status (migrant and urban born) were interviewed in greater depth to determine selection features of their social and residential background and their migration and occupational history. These urban survey data were supplemented by a rural survey: a criterion sample (N = 256) of married men, age 20-54 years, in 11 rural villages in a region of heavy outmigration to Bogota. This rural sample included both nonmigrants and return migrants who had lived in a city for at least 1 year before returning to the rural area. Generally, the origin of the migrants was clear, since only 9% had lived in more than 1 rural place and only 12% had lived in an intermediate city before moving to Bogota. The migrants tended to come more from the small towns than from either the rural areas or the intermediate cities. Migrants clearly did not originate proportionately from the various occupational strata in the rural area. Relative to rural nonmigrants, migrants were less likely to be sons of landless farmers and more likely to be sons of store owners, government bureaucrats, and similar middle income groups in the rural towns. Return migrants relative to both migrants and rural nonmigrants were more likely to be sons of landowners, indicating that ties with the land may be a principal reason for returning. Mean years of schooling were highest for the fathers of return migrants (4.2 years), next highest for fathers of migrants who have remained in the metropolis (2.8), and lowest for the fathers of the rural nonmigrants (2.1). In accord with their social backgrounds, migrants themselves revealed higher levels of schooling than rural nonmigrants. At least part of the explanation for the relatively constant levels of schooling among rural urban migrants over the past 40 years is related to the fact that male migrants tended to come with at least some education and that the level of education among those who have attended school does not appear to have changed greatly in the rural area. There did not appear to have been any systematic changes in the difficulty of obtaining work over the 40-year period, and the mean skill level of work remained at about 1.9 on the 6 point scale. Thus it appears that the structure of work opportunities for incoming migrants did not change much.