Federal, State, and Local Immigrant-Related Policies and Child Health Outcomes: a Systematic Review

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Danielle M. Crookes, Emory University; Kaitlyn K. Stanhope, Emory University; Ye Ji Kim, Emory University; Elizabeth Lummus, Emory University; Shakira Suglia, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-04-01
• Publisher: Nature
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute 2021
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40615-021-00978-w
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 2
• Start Page: 478
• End Page: 488
• Grant/Funding Information: DMC and YK were supported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute T32HL130025 grant.
• Keywords: Female; Child Health; Language; Health; Humans; Child; Policy; Delivery of Health Care; Emigrants and Immigrants; Immigrants; Adolescent; Mental health; Children
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Health Sciences, Health Care Management

Abstract

The passage of US immigrant-related policies at the federal, state, and local level is on the rise. These policies may affect child health through several mechanisms. We performed a systematic review of English-language, peer-reviewed, quantitative studies examining US immigrant-related policies and the mental and physical health of youth in immigrant families. We searched PubMed and five social science databases for studies published between 1986 and 2019. Two independent reviewers screened the studies and appraised study quality. Of the final 17 studies, ten studies examined birth outcomes and seven studies examined other outcomes in childhood and adolescence (e.g., self-rated health). Generally, exclusionary policies were associated with worse health outcomes and inclusive policies were associated with better health outcomes. Several studies did not observe an association, but only one study found an association of the opposite direction. In that study, similar trends in different policy environments and across foreign-born and US-born women suggest alternative causes for the observed association. Overall, we find that exclusionary policies are, at best, neutral, but likely harmful towards child wellbeing, while inclusive policies can be beneficial.