Age at Arrival and Healthcare Use among Migrants in France

Juste Lekstyte, Centre d’Estudis Demogràfics – CED

Age at arrival is an important factor for understanding health behaviours in later life. While many studies explore the link between immigration and healthcare use, there's less focus on how the age at which migrants arrive affects their healthcare use. This study addresses this gap by examining the influence of age at arrival on different dimensions of healthcare use, including foregone healthcare, visits to a general practitioner or a specialist, and cervical smear tests among women, using data from the French Trajectories and Origins 2 (TeO2) survey. Results show that immigrants who arrived during adolescence or adulthood (after age 18) are significantly less likely to forego healthcare, visit specialist doctors (in the case of women), or undergo cervical smear tests compared to native-born individuals. In contrast, those who arrived during early childhood (ages 0-9) exhibit healthcare use patterns similar to native-born individuals. These findings highlight the importance of considering age at arrival to improve the understanding of why there are differences between healthcare utilization among migrants and native-born individuals.

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

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