Department of Community Medicine and Primary Care, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
J Immigr Minor Health. 2011 Jun;13(3):510-7. doi: 10.1007/s10903-010-9367-z.
Undocumented migrants face major barriers in accessing prevention and health care. Whereas the association between low socioeconomic status and poor health is well documented only few studies have addressed specific health issues in undocumented migrants. The aim of the present study is to describe sexual and reproductive health behaviors of undocumented migrants in Geneva. This descriptive cross sectional study included consecutive undocumented migrants presenting from November 2007 to February 2008 to a health facility offering free access to health care to this population. Following informed consent, they completed a self administered questionnaire about their socio-demographic profile and sexual and reproductive health behaviors. A total of 384 patients were eligible for the study. 313 (82%) agreed to participate of which 77% (241 patients) completed the survey. Participants were mainly young, Latino-American, single, well-educated and currently working women. They had multiple partners and reported frequently engaging in sexual intercourse. Use of contraceptive methods and strategies of prevention against sexually transmitted infections (STI) were rare. Nearly half of the women had had at least one induced abortion and 40% had had an unplanned pregnancy. One in four participants reported a current or past STI or other genital infection. The results of our study suggest that undocumented migrants engage in frequent and high risk sexual intercourse with insufficient use of contraceptive methods and suboptimal strategies of prevention against STI. Our study underlines the real need for specific sexual and reproductive educational programs targeting this hard to reach population.
无证移民在获得预防和保健方面面临重大障碍。尽管低社会经济地位与健康状况不佳之间的关联已有充分记录，但只有少数研究涉及无证移民的具体健康问题。本研究旨在描述日内瓦无证移民的性健康和生殖健康行为。这项描述性的横断面研究包括 2007 年 11 月至 2008 年 2 月期间连续向一家为该人群提供免费医疗保健的医疗机构就诊的无证移民。在获得知情同意后，他们填写了一份关于其社会人口统计学特征和性健康与生殖健康行为的自我管理问卷。共有 384 名患者符合研究条件。313 名（82%）同意参加，其中 77%（241 名）完成了调查。参与者主要是年轻的拉丁裔美国女性，单身，受过良好教育，目前有工作。她们有多个伴侣，且经常发生性行为。避孕方法和预防性传播感染（STI）的策略很少使用。近一半的女性至少有过一次人工流产，40%有过意外怀孕。四分之一的参与者报告称当前或过去患有性传播感染或其他生殖器感染。我们的研究结果表明，无证移民频繁发生高风险性行为，避孕方法使用不足，预防性传播感染的策略也不理想。我们的研究强调了针对这一难以接触到的人群制定具体的性健康和生殖健康教育计划的实际需求。
