International Journal of Public Health (Mar 2024)
Health Service Use Among Migrants in the German National Cohort—The Role of Birth Region and Language Skills
- Christian Wiessner,
- Sara Licaj,
- Jens Klein,
- Barbara Bohn,
- Tilman Brand,
- Stefanie Castell,
- Amand Führer,
- Volker Harth,
- Margit Heier,
- Margit Heier,
- Jana-Kristin Heise,
- Bernd Holleczek,
- Stefanie Jaskulski,
- Carmen Jochem,
- Lena Koch-Gallenkamp,
- Lilian Krist,
- Michael Leitzmann,
- Wolfgang Lieb,
- Claudia Meinke-Franze,
- Rafael Mikolajczyk,
- Ilais Moreno Velásquez,
- Nadia Obi,
- Nadia Obi,
- Tobias Pischon,
- Tobias Pischon,
- Tobias Pischon,
- Sabine Schipf,
- Sigrid Thierry,
- Sigrid Thierry,
- Stefan N. Willich,
- Hajo Zeeb,
- Heiko Becher
Affiliations
- Christian Wiessner
- Institute of Medical Biometry and Epidemiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Sara Licaj
- Institute of Medical Biometry and Epidemiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Jens Klein
- Institute of Medical Sociology, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Barbara Bohn
- NAKO e.V, Heidelberg, Germany
- Tilman Brand
- Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology—BIPS, Bremen, Germany
- Stefanie Castell
- Department of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Brunswick, Germany
- Amand Führer
- Institute of Medical Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Informatics, Interdisciplinary Center for Health Sciences, Medical School of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
- Volker Harth
- Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Margit Heier
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München—German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
- Margit Heier
- KORA Study Centre, University Hospital Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany
- Jana-Kristin Heise
- Department of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Brunswick, Germany
- Bernd Holleczek
- 0Saarland Cancer Registry, Saarbrücken, Germany
- Stefanie Jaskulski
- 1Institute for Prevention and Cancer Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Carmen Jochem
- 2Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- Lena Koch-Gallenkamp
- 3Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Aging Research, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Lilian Krist
- 4Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Michael Leitzmann
- 2Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- Wolfgang Lieb
- 5Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- Claudia Meinke-Franze
- 6Institute for Community Medicine, University Medical Center Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
- Rafael Mikolajczyk
- Institute of Medical Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Informatics, Interdisciplinary Center for Health Sciences, Medical School of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
- Ilais Moreno Velásquez
- 7Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Berlin, Germany
- Nadia Obi
- Institute of Medical Biometry and Epidemiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Nadia Obi
- Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Tobias Pischon
- 7Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Berlin, Germany
- Tobias Pischon
- 8Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Biobank Technology Platform, Berlin, Germany
- Tobias Pischon
- 9Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Sabine Schipf
- 6Institute for Community Medicine, University Medical Center Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
- Sigrid Thierry
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München—German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
- Sigrid Thierry
- 0Augsburg University Hospital, Augsburg, Germany
- Stefan N. Willich
- 4Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Hajo Zeeb
- Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology—BIPS, Bremen, Germany
- Heiko Becher
- 1Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2024.1606377
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 69
Abstract
Objective: To compare health service use (HSU) between migrants and non-migrants in Germany.Methods: Using data from the population-based German National Cohort (NAKO), we compared the HSU of general practitioners, medical specialists, and psychologists/psychiatrists between six migrant groups of different origins with the utilization of non-migrants. A latent profile analysis (LPA) with a subsequent multinomial regression analysis was conducted to characterize the HSU of different groups. Additionally, separate regression models were calculated. Both analyses aimed to estimate the direct effect of migration background on HSU.Results: In the LPA, the migrant groups showed no relevant differences compared to non-migrants regarding HSU. In separate analyses, general practitioners and medical specialists were used comparably to slightly more often by first-generation migrants from Eastern Europe, Turkey, and resettlers. In contrast, the use of psychologists/psychiatrists was substantially lower among those groups. Second-generation migrants and migrants from Western countries showed no differences in their HSU compared to non-migrants.Conclusion: We observed a low mental HSU among specific migrant groups in Germany. This indicates the existence of barriers among those groups that need to be addressed.
Keywords
