Precarious Legal Status and General, Physical and Mental Health of Homeless Immigrant Women in France – DSAFHIR Survey

Milica Jankulovic, INED

Over the last 20 years, French immigration reforms have made it increasingly difficult for immigrants to enter and stay. This is particularly accurate for the so-called "unwanted" immigrants, as the conditions for obtaining regular status have become more rigorous. Undocumented immigrants, especially women, generally report poorer health than documented ones. Despite increased interest in migrants' health, little is known about the health of women in socially precarious situations when the stability of different legal statuses is taken into account. Most studies in this area treat legal status as a binary variable – documented or undocumented – which has become insufficient. A more complex approach is warranted, as stability of legal status may be associated with poor health. This paper explores the relationship between general, physical and mental self-rated health (SRH) of homeless immigrant women accounting for 'precarious' legal status, beyond the binary distinction, and their living conditions in the host country. We use a regression model to observe the relationship between different covariates, such as legal status, socio-demographic factors and access to health care, and the three SRH indicators. We use data from the French DSAFHIR survey, conducted on a group of vulnerable women in state emergency housing.

Keywords: Migrant Populations and Refugees, Population Policies, Health and Morbidity, International Migration

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