Mortality differentials and causes of death among self-settled refugees and host population in Agincourt: Insights from demographic and health surveillance system data 1994-2018

Wonder Agbemavi, the Australian National University
Brian Houle, The Australian National University
Chodziwadziwa Kabudula, University of the Witwatersrand

Mortality differentials reflect significant variations in health outcomes across populations and are essential for understanding public health dynamics. Understanding how mortality affects diverse groups including refugees over time is important for population health interventions. Our study aims to examine mortality differentials and causes of death among self-settled refugees and the host population in Agincourt. We used data from the Agincourt (1994-2018) and Manica (1998-2018) Health and Demographic Surveillance System. We used discrete time event history analysis to estimate the probability of dying between different sub-groups and assessed how these mortality differentials varied over time and by cause of death. Mozambican non-migrants in Manica had the highest probability of dying across all ages when compared to Mozambican migrants and self-settled refugees in Agincourt. However, the probability of dying for Mozambican self-settled refugees was higher across all ages than their counterparts in Agincourt. Overall, self-settled refugees had the highest risk of dying from every major cause of death group. It is therefore prudent that interventions to reduce mortality differentials for disadvantaged groups are specifically targeted towards refugees while focusing on access to antiretroviral treatment and treatment for noncommunicable diseases.

Keywords: Migrant Populations and Refugees, Mortality and Longevity, Health and Morbidity

See extended abstract.