Immigration and the Utilization of Preventive Care in Europe: Results from Retrospective Data

Abstract

We used retrospective information from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to analyze the utilization patterns of preventive care around the time of migration of a representative sample of migrants in Europe. We find heterogeneous behaviours across different types of preventive care. Migrants increase the utilization of dental care significantly as soon as they reach the host country compared to the years immediately before migration, while migrant women increase their use of blood pressure tests, gynaecological visits, and mammogram tests progressively after migration. Other types of care do not exhibit particular patterns in relation to the migration episode. We also observe relevant differences in preventive care use around migration by country of origin. Our results suggest that preventive care use by migrants cannot be given for granted and is intimately linked to the process of integration in the host country.

Keywords: Immigration, Preventive care, SHARE, event study

JEL Classification: I12, I14, J15