Work

Health Status and Use of Healthcare Services of Undocumented Migrant Sex Workers in Catalonia: A Descriptive Study Using Administrative Registries

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The objective of the study is to describe the health status and use of public healthcare services of undocumented migrant sex workers (UMSWs) attended in Catalonia be-tween 2013 and 2018. This study utilized a descriptive observational research design. Non-parametric tests were applied to estimate differences in the use of public healthcare services, and incidence and prevalence of selected sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) according to gender and region of origin. Out of 1,464 women and 199 men SWs, 855 (51.4%) contacted once or more primary care services, and 378 (22.7%) used emergency services. Differences between men and women were only found re-garding specific primary care services. Differences between regions of origin were found in the use of primary care services (Sub-Saharan Africa had 65.9% while Europe and Central Asia 43.0%). Results suggest that UMSWs do not use public healthcare services as often as legal residents or other documented migrants as seen in other studies.

Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph22111696

Authors: Albert Dalmau-Bueno, Sergi Albert-Ballestar, Rosa Mansilla, Anna Garcia-Altes

Institutions: Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Salut, Agència de Salut Pública de Catalunya

Language: English

Topic: Sex work and related issues

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities, Gender equality

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,016