DOI: 10.3886/icpsr38601
title: Project Migrante: Health Status and Access to Health Care Among Migrants on Mexico's Northern Border, 2020-2021
title: Archival Version

description: The Migrante Project is a binational study that examines health status and access to health care among Mexican migrants. Since 2007, Migrante investigators have implemented a series of cross-sectional probability-based surveys on Mexico's northern border. The current phase of Migrante includes three survey waves (N=1,200 each), each focused on a specific topic area. Data for the Wave I survey focused on HIV and sexual/reproductive health. Wave II is focused on non-communicable disease. Data collection for this wave is ongoing. Wave III (data to be collected in 2023) will focus on mental health and substance use. All surveys contain additional questions on socio-demographics, health status, health care access, migration history, and contextual factors related to migration stage. All waves also include biometric testing (for example, rapid HIV testing). Participants are sampled from four different migrant flows:

<strong>Northbound flow:</strong> Migrants traveling north and arriving at the border from other regions in Mexico
<strong>Southbound flow - Border:</strong> Migrants traveling from the Mexico side of the Mexico-US border to points farther south
<strong>Southbound flow - U.S.:</strong> Migrants returning to Mexico from the U.S. voluntarily
<strong>Deported flow:</strong> Migrants returning to Mexico from the U.S via deportation

The data herein come from the Wave I survey and were collected in Tijuana, Matamoros, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico between August 2020 and September 2021. The study employed a multistage sampling design, with a combination of geographic and temporal sampling units, modeled after the Encuesta sobre Migración en la Frontera Norte de México (EMIF Norte). Migrante sampling sites for Wave I included bus stations, airports, and deportation stations in each of the three cities.
Eligible individuals were at least 18 years old, born in Mexico or other Latin American countries, fluent in Spanish, not residents of the city where the survey is being conducted (except for deported migrants), and traveling for labor reasons or change of residence. In total, there were 1,398 observations (northbound flow N=347, southbound flow N=703, and deported flow N=348) in Wave I, with 1,257 individuals completing the Wave I survey. Three hundred and six of these individuals belonged to the deported flow, 306 to the northbound flow, 336 to the southbound border flow, and 309 to the southbound U.S. flow. Consent rates ranged from 13% to 98% depending on the flow and survey city. Migrante surveys can be used to produce population-level estimates of health outcomes and health care access, investigate variations across migration phases, and explore the impact of health care and immigration policies on migrants' health outcomes, healthcare access, and individual and environmental health determinants.
description: The primary aims of this study are:

To produce population-level estimates of health among Mexican migrants traveling along the Mexico-U.S. border.
To investigate variations in access to health-related determinants and outcomes across and within migration phases.
To test the feasibility of completing 6-month follow-up phone interviews with survey respondents.

A secondary aim is to explore the influence of federal-, state-, and local-level policies on migrants' health and determinants of their health.
description: This study entails cross-sectional, probability surveys implemented in three cities on the Mexico side of the Mexico-U.S. border. Eligible, consenting participants complete an anonymous, interviewer-administered questionnaire. The surveys include questions focusing on health care access and utilization, HIV status and sexual risk behaviors, reproductive health, non-communicable disease, and mental health and substance use. All surveys include additional questions on sociodemographics, migration history, and contextual factors related to the most recent migration stage. Participants also had the opportunity to undergo biometric testing.
description: Variables in this study pertain to the demographics (sex, age, education, etc.) of migrants crossing the Mexico-U.S. border, their life experiences, and their health conditions.
description: A weight variable has been defined for each dataset. It is called either <strong>FACTOR_EXPANSION</strong> (Northbound and Southbound Data) or <strong>WEIGHT</strong> (Deported Data).
description: Response Rates: Response rates ranged from 13-52% for Northbound migrants, 28-75% for migrants traveling South from the U.S., 37-70% for migrants traveling south from the Mexican border, and 72-98% for migrants deported from the U.S. in the three survey cities.
description: A multi-stage sampling design with two dimensions and several sampling stages was used. The geographic dimension included the region of the Mexico - U.S. border (i.e. West, Central, and East), city within the region (i.e. Tijuana, Matamoros, and Ciudad Juárez), sampling site and point. Sampling points were the doorway(s) to the passport control points and the gate(s) to the baggage claim area(s) in the airports; the ticket desks and the baggage claim areas in the bus stations; and the hallway area through which migrants cleared for departure exit the deportation stations. Within the temporal dimension, the stages were the quarter of the year, the day of the week, and the survey shift (00:00 - 8:00, 8:00 - 16:00, and 16:00 - 24:00 hours). Every three months, a stratified random sample of "place - time" was selected and determined the survey schedule and times for the next quarter from among all possible pairs within that period. A rigorous process was conducted independently for each migrant flow. For the geographic dimension, the selection process proceeded from region to city, sampling site, and sampling point. For the temporal dimension, the selection proceeded from quarter of the year to day of the week, and survey shift. With some exceptions, the probability of selection of units at each stage was proportional to the volume of migrant flow the unit accounts for, based on our sampling frame.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Northbound Public-Use Data
DS2: Northbound Restricted-Use Data
DS3: Southbound Public-Use Data
DS4: Southbound Restricted-Use Data
DS5: Deported Public-Use Data
DS6: Deported Restricted-Use Data
description: Adults traveling to or through Tijuana, Matamoros, or Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, born in Mexico or other Latin American countries, fluent in Spanish, nonresidents of the city where the survey is being conducted (except for deported migrants), and traveling for labor reasons or change of residence. Smallest Geographic Unit: State
description: on-site questionnaireFor additional information on this study, please visit the Project Migrante website.