Department of Global Public Health, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
BMJ Open. 2021 Mar 15;11(3):e048012. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-048012.
The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health systems globally. With the increase of global migration, quantifying the health needs and key correlates of these outcomes is a global health priority. This study assessed migration characteristics, COVID-19 attitudes and the postmigration social environment as key correlates of depression, quality of life and alcohol misuse among international migrants in China.
A nationwide cross-sectional online survey was conducted from 17 February and 1 March 2020.
Links to the online survey were disseminated by migrant-focused community-based organisations through WeChat.
English speaking international migrants who met the inclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria were being born in a country outside of China, aged 18 years or over, cumulatively living in China for 1 month or more and staying in China between December 2019 and February 2020.
Depression, quality of life and alcohol misuse.
Regression models indicated that planning or considering leaving China due to COVID-19, lacking the confidence to protect themselves and not being confident that the epidemic would end soon was associated with greater depression, lower quality of life and greater levels of alcohol misuse. Worry about contracting COVID-19 and feeling helpless to prevent infection were associated with greater depression and lower quality of life. General perceived social support, and trust in Chinese people, institutions and systems were protective factors for depression and associated with higher reported quality of life.
This study identifies key correlates that, if adequately addressed through public health outreach, may safeguard migrant well-being during a public health emergency. Trust in people and systems within the postmigration environment is an important consideration for future public health planning efforts.
COVID-19 大流行使全球卫生系统不堪重负。随着全球移民的增加，量化这些结果的健康需求和关键关联因素是全球卫生的当务之急。本研究评估了移民特征、COVID-19 态度和移民后的社会环境作为中国国际移民抑郁、生活质量和酒精滥用的关键关联因素。
2020 年 2 月 17 日至 3 月 1 日进行了一项全国性的横断面在线调查。
通过移民为重点的社区组织通过微信传播在线调查的链接。
符合纳入标准的讲英语的国际移民。纳入标准为出生于中国境外的国家，年龄在 18 岁或以上，累计在中国生活 1 个月或以上，并且在 2019 年 12 月至 2020 年 2 月期间留在中国。
抑郁、生活质量和酒精滥用。
回归模型表明，由于 COVID-19 而计划或考虑离开中国、缺乏保护自己的信心、不相信疫情很快会结束与更大的抑郁、更低的生活质量和更高的酒精滥用水平有关。对感染 COVID-19 的担忧和感到无助防止感染与更大的抑郁和更低的生活质量有关。一般感知的社会支持以及对中国人、机构和系统的信任是抑郁的保护因素，并与更高的生活质量报告有关。
本研究确定了关键关联因素，如果通过公共卫生宣传充分解决这些因素，可能会在公共卫生紧急情况下保护移民的福祉。对移民后环境中的人和系统的信任是未来公共卫生规划工作的一个重要考虑因素。
