Migration and health in Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Evi N. Arifin, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
Aris Ananta, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
Sureeporn Punpuing, Mahidol University

This paper examined the relationship between health status, health risk behaviour, and migration status (intra-provincial, inter-provincial, international migrants and non-migrants) in Kanchanaburi, a province in Thailand with a long border with Myanmar. A logistic model was used. The results showed that the association between migration status and health status seemed to be robust. The international migrants had the lowest probabilities of suffering from chronic illness, followed by non-migrants, provincial migrants, and internal migrants. The result was the same whether we controlled with health risk behaviours and/or other independent variables. The international migrants had the lowest probability of having health-risk behaviour, except when measured with smoking. The intra-provincial migrants were more likely to have similar drinking habits (beer and liquor) to the non-migrants, probably because both of them were from the same province. There was no significant difference in smoking habit and using mosquito net among the Thais.