Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Almería, Almería, Spain.
Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Medicine, University of Almería, Almería, Spain.
Front Public Health. 2024 Apr 19;12:1387715. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1387715. eCollection 2024.
The causes behind migration movements are complex. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how several countries failed to respond to the virus adequately, while simultaneously infringing on people's rights. Male irregular migrants fled their countries of origin and embarked on a perilous migration journey to Spain. The highly restrictive COVID-19 measures and border closures affected the mobility of male irregular migrants, whose reception in the host country posed a challenge. It led to the establishment of emergency facilities to accommodate male irregular migrants affected by COVID-19, which had repercussions on their mental health. The aim of this study was to describe and understand the experiences of male irregular migrants throughout their migration process and reception in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Qualitative descriptive study. Sixteen male irregular migrants participated in this study. Data were collected between January and March 2023 through 16 one-on-one in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data using ATLAS.ti computer software.
Three main themes emerged: (1) How the COVID-19 pandemic drove male irregular migrants to leave their countries of origin, (2) How COVID-19 lockdown policies affected the migration journey, and (3) Receiving male irregular migrants in a pandemic: a housing labyrinth marked by isolation and loneliness.
The COVID-19 pandemic increased the social, employment and health inequalities experienced by male irregular migrants. Border closures exacerbated the migration journey and the social stigmatization of this group, who were seen as carriers of the virus in both transit and host countries. Strict control measures in emergency and reception facilities had a significant psychological impact on the male irregular migrants due to the social isolation they experienced. Health institutions should develop programs to guarantee the care needs of irregular migrants.
移民流动的原因很复杂。新冠疫情突出表明，一些国家未能充分应对病毒，同时侵犯了人们的权利。男性非正常移民逃离原籍国，踏上了前往西班牙的危险移民之旅。高度限制的新冠疫情措施和边境关闭影响了男性非正常移民的流动性，他们在东道国的接待也面临挑战。这导致建立了紧急设施来容纳受新冠疫情影响的男性非正常移民，这对他们的心理健康产生了影响。本研究旨在描述和理解男性非正常移民在新冠疫情期间的整个移民过程和在西班牙的接待经历。
定性描述性研究。16 名男性非正常移民参与了这项研究。数据是在 2023 年 1 月至 3 月期间通过 16 次一对一深入访谈收集的。使用 ATLAS.ti 计算机软件对定性数据进行了主题分析。
出现了三个主要主题：（1）新冠疫情如何促使男性非正常移民离开原籍国，（2）新冠疫情封锁政策如何影响移民旅程，（3）大流行期间接待男性非正常移民：一个以隔离和孤独为标志的住房迷宫。
新冠疫情加剧了男性非正常移民所经历的社会、就业和健康不平等。边境关闭使移民旅程和这一群体的社会污名化更加恶化，他们在过境和东道国被视为病毒携带者。紧急和接待设施中的严格控制措施对男性非正常移民产生了重大的心理影响，因为他们经历了社会隔离。卫生机构应制定方案，以满足非正常移民的护理需求。
