Poverty, Migration and Health

June 2006

David R. Williams, Departments of Sociology and Epidemiology, and Survey Research Center, University of Michigan; Selina A. Mohammed, Women’s Health Disparities, School of Nursing, University of Michigan

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Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of research on the association between poverty and other indicators of socioeconomic status (SES) and health. It also describes the complex ways in which race and ethnicity, SES and immigration status combine to affect patterns in the distribution of disease in the in the United States. Some of the findings of prior research are empirically examined in a large, racially and ethnically diverse sample of California adults. The chapter also considers the importance of including health status in policy initiatives that address poverty and the need for researchers and policy makers to be sensitive to the ways in which a broad range of social policies can have health consequences.



Keywords:
Health, Health Insurance, and Health Care, Immigration, Race and Ethnicity