Prevalence of tuberculosis, COVID-19, chronic conditions and vulnerabilities among migrants and refugees: an electronic survey

Jezus, Sonia Vivian de; Sales, Carolina Maia Martins; Rissino, Silvia das Dores; Mocelin, Helaine Jacinta Salvador; Araújo, Mariana Pereira da Silva; Arcêncio, Ricardo Alexandre; Araújo, Vania Maria Silva; Terena, Nahari de Faria Marcos; Freitas, Paula de Souza Silva; Maciel, Ethel Leonor Noia

doi:10.1590/1518-8345.5928.3690

Brasil

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Original Article • Rev. Latino-Am. Enfermagem 31 • Jan-Dec 2023 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1518-8345.5928.3690 linkcopy

Prevalence of tuberculosis, COVID-19, chronic conditions and vulnerabilities among migrants and refugees: an electronic survey

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the prevalence of tuberculosis, coronavirus, chronic conditions and vulnerabilities among migrants and refugees in Brazil.

Method: this is a cross-sectional study of the electronic survey type conducted with international migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistics was applied for the analysis, with calculation of position and dispersion measures. Regarding the categorical variables, relative and absolute frequencies were estimated.

Results: the study participants were 553 migrants and refugees, verifying 3.07%, 7.2% and 27.3% prevalence of tuberculosis, COVID-19 and chronic conditions, respectively. Among the vulnerabilities, 32% reported unemployment, 37.6% moved to Brazil as a result of the social situation in their countries and 33.6% were living as refugees or sheltered people.

Conclusion: tuberculosis, chronic diseases and COVID-19 presented higher prevalence values in migrants and refugees than in the general population. As this is a population group that still has significant difficulty accessing health services and social protection systems, based on diverse evidence, the study will subsidize public policies, Nursing care and the incorporation of new routines in the service.

Descriptors: Emigration and Immigration; Tuberculosis; Health Vulnerability; Brazil; Coronavirus; Epidemiology

Variables	n	%
Gender
Female	322	58.2%
Male	231	41.8%
Self-declared race/skin color
Brown	227	41.0%
White	168	30.4%
Black	85	15.4%
Indigenous	20	3.6%
Creole	16	2.9%
Other	16	2.9%
Unknown	11	2.0%
Asian	10	1.8%
Schooling
Complete Higher Education	142	25.7%
Incomplete Higher Education	101	18.3%
Between nine and eleven years of study	91	16.5%
Graduate studies	84	15.2%
Between five and eight years of study	70	12.7%
Up to four years of study	30	5.4%
No studies	21	3.8%
I prefer not to answer	13	2.4%
Unknown	1	0.2%
Marital status
Single	286	51.8%
Married/Stable union	206	37.3%
Separated/Divorced	34	6.1%
Widowed	18	3.3%
Unknown	9	1.6%
Employment status
Unemployed	177	32.0%
Informal worker	155	28.0%
Student	76	13.7%
Formal worker	83	15.0%
Other	25	4.5%
I prefer not to answer	19	3.4%
I work and study at the same time	15	2.7%
Unknown	3	0.5%
Naturalized
No	512	92.6%
Yes	35	6.3%
I prefer not to answer	6	1.1%
Vulnerable population
Unknown	7	1.3%
Living on the street	3	0.5%
Deprived of freedom	2	0.4%
Indigenous	1	0.2%
Non-vulnerable population	540	97.6%
Housing situation
Rented house	256	46.2%
Asylum/Shelter/Hostel	186	33.6%
Relatives’ or friends’ house	51	9.2%
Own home	25	4.5%
I prefer not to answer	15	2.0%
No fixed place of residence	7	1.3%
Unknown	13	2.4%
Student accommodation	-	-
I’m living on the street	-	-
Time living in Brazil
3+ years	175	31.6%
More than 1 year but less than 2 years	152	27.5%
More than 6 months but less than 1 year	100	18.0%
More than 2 years but less than 3 years	87	15.7%
Less than 6 months	22	4.0%
I don’t remember	17	3.1%

Variables	n	%
Reason for moving to Brazil
Situation of vulnerability in their country of origin	208	37.6%
Work	126	22.8%
Study	80	14.5%
Family	72	13.0%
Health	26	4.7%
I prefer not to answer	24	4.3%
Other	15	2.7%
Unknown	2	0.4%
Migrant’s state of residence
Roraima/RR	284	51.4%
São Paulo/SP	53	9.6%
Espírito Santo/ES	50	9.0%
Others	32	5.8%
Distrito Federal/DF	28	5.1%
Rio Grande do Sul/RS	24	4.3%
Rio de Janeiro/RJ	17	3.1%
Amazonas/AM	13	2.4%
Minas Gerais/MG	13	2.4%
Paraná/PR	12	2.2%
Bahia/BA	11	2.0%
Rio Grande do Norte/RN	8	1.4%
Santa Catarina/SC	8	1.4%
Estimated length of stay in Brazil
Permanently	274	49.5%
Improvement in the situation in the country of origin	140	25.3%
I prefer not to answer	58	10.5%
End of studies	43	7.8%
Other	18	3.3%
Improvement in health status	10	1.8%
End of employment contract	7	1.3%
Unknown	3	0.5%
Health plan/Private health insurance
No	499	90.2%
Yes	51	9.2%
I prefer not to answer	3	0.5%
Uses the Unified Health System (SUS)
Yes	468	84.6%
No	76	13.7%
Unknown	9	1.6%

	Yes	%	No	%
Contact with someone infected by TB*	62	11.2%	491	88.8%
Evaluated by a health professional after contact with a TB* index case	33	6.0%	520	94.0%
TB* diagnosis	17	3.07%	536	96.9%

Health conditions	n	%
No self-declared chronic condition	402	72.7%
Some chronic condition	151	27.3%
Hypertension	43	28.5%
Other condition	38	25.2%
Diabetes	32	21.2%
Depression	22	14.6%
Alcoholism	8	5.3%
HIV^*	8	5.3%

COVID-19 domain	n	%	n	%
Had COVID-19^*	40	7.2%	513	92.8%
Evaluated by a health professional regarding the self-reported disease	29	5.2%	524	94.8%
Need to be hospitalized due to COVID-19^*	2	0.4%	551	99.6%
Tests performed to confirm COVID-19^*	125	22.6%	428	77.4%
Positive result in the COVID-19^* test	32	5.8%	521	94.2%
Person that lives with a migrant and had COVID-19^*	55	9.9%	498	90.1%
The contact was tested for COVID-19^*	36	6.5%	517	93.5%
The contact was positive for COVID-19^*	33	6.0%	520	94.0%
Received governmental support during the COVID-19^* pandemic	296	53.5%	257	46.5%

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[TFN1] *TB = Tuberculosis