Hawthorne Alexis, Bobek Alicja, Sandström Lina
Centre for Diversity, Policy, Research and Practice, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK.
School of Global Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
Sociol Health Illn. 2025 Sep;47(7):e70077. doi: 10.1111/1467-9566.70077.
Many migrants are considered to be disadvantaged regarding their social, economic and health outcomes. During the COVID-19 pandemic these inequalities grew starker, especially in healthcare, as migrants were at increased risk of exposure and had a reduced ability to seek care or access support. This paper will explore these issues through the analysis of narrative interviews gathered during a large-scale, cross-European project which explored the experiences of 740 marginalised individuals, including migrants, during the COVID-19 pandemic. We build upon Beck's concept of the 'risk society' by exploring the ways in which neoliberal states have created exposure to risk; however, we also adopt a critical approach in examining how risk is not distributed equally. The following themes were revealed: first, migrants were often more exposed to the virus due to their occupational status. Second, migration status had an impact on access to healthcare, with undocumented migrants especially vulnerable. Third, the intersection between health crises and trust was identified: on the one hand, migrants lack of trust in host country institutions affected their engagement with services; on the other, they also experienced a lack of trust in them, as they were often perceived as a 'risk' in relation to the virus.
许多移民在社会、经济和健康状况方面被认为处于不利地位。在新冠疫情期间，这些不平等现象变得更加明显，尤其是在医疗保健领域，因为移民面临更高的接触风险，且寻求医疗或获得支持的能力下降。本文将通过分析在一个大规模的泛欧项目中收集的叙事访谈来探讨这些问题，该项目探讨了740名边缘化个体（包括移民）在新冠疫情期间的经历。我们通过探究新自由主义国家制造风险暴露的方式，以贝克的“风险社会”概念为基础；然而，我们也采用批判性方法来审视风险分配的不平等。研究揭示了以下主题：第一，移民因其职业状况往往更容易接触到病毒。第二，移民身份对获得医疗保健有影响，无证移民尤其脆弱。第三，确定了健康危机与信任之间的交叉点：一方面，移民对东道国机构缺乏信任影响了他们使用服务的意愿；另一方面，他们也感受到这些机构对他们缺乏信任，因为他们在病毒方面常常被视为一种“风险”。
