Take-Home Exam
New Biosciences/New Society
Social Sciences
Author: Juweriya Salah
Student number: i6245651
Course number: MGH4003
Maastricht, 21 December 2020
, MEMORANDUM
TO: Assistant Minister, Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport
FROM: Juweriya Salah, Department of Refugees and Migrant Health
DATE: December 21, 2020
SUBJECT: Call to action: Migrants and COVID-19 based on Social Psychology
Recent rapports revealed that migrants are disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In
the Netherlands, this is resulting in the overrepresentation of migrants in the intensive care units. Our
department believes that this problem is caused by the migrants' reluctance to follow the governmental
measurements. However, this unhealthy behavior is grounded in the individuals' health beliefs which
we intend to change. The purpose of this memo is to illustrate this problem based on the theoretical
health behavior framework as well as provide a possible intervention to reduce the migrants'
overrepresentation.
The Health Belief Model acts as a guiding tool to influence individuals in adopting adequate health
behavior. Based on this model we predict that migrants will take a recommended action if they believe
they are vulnerable to the disease, understands the severity of the disease, belief that healthy behavior
will reduce susceptibility and the severe consequences, acknowledges the obstacles of adopting
healthy behavior, have internal and external factors motivating them towards undertaking action and
lastly if they believe to be competent in overcoming barriers. Our department believes that one of
these components is insufficient to fully understand migrants' unhealthy behavior. Quantitative
surveys are therefore needed to identify these gaps and understand why migrants are behaving
unhealthily. However, many possible outcomes can be anticipated such as the migrants' poor health
literacy. This can pose a significant gap which could explain the lack of adherence to the
governmental measurements. We believe that health education workshops with interpreters would be
an appropriate solution to empower migrants in small groups at their community centers. These
workshops would include visual presentations that target migrants' perception of risk and
consequences of the disease and could boost healthy behavior. The unfortunate reality is that
morbidity deems to be higher amongst migrants compared to the general population. If this
information is apparent, it could trigger emotions and convince migrants of their gains in adhering to
the measurements. Additionally, including supportive peer and social networks could also increase
healthy behavior as poor social skills are expected. If migrants are still behaving unhealthy, training
workshops and giving verbal reinforcements can enforce self-efficacy by boosting the migrants'
confidence. This will motivate them to adopt healthy behavior.
This intervention aims to promote education which is one of the core components of the social
determinants of health. Our strategy is to identify and mitigate knowledge gaps migrants are facing.
2
New Biosciences/New Society
Social Sciences
Author: Juweriya Salah
Student number: i6245651
Course number: MGH4003
Maastricht, 21 December 2020
, MEMORANDUM
TO: Assistant Minister, Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport
FROM: Juweriya Salah, Department of Refugees and Migrant Health
DATE: December 21, 2020
SUBJECT: Call to action: Migrants and COVID-19 based on Social Psychology
Recent rapports revealed that migrants are disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In
the Netherlands, this is resulting in the overrepresentation of migrants in the intensive care units. Our
department believes that this problem is caused by the migrants' reluctance to follow the governmental
measurements. However, this unhealthy behavior is grounded in the individuals' health beliefs which
we intend to change. The purpose of this memo is to illustrate this problem based on the theoretical
health behavior framework as well as provide a possible intervention to reduce the migrants'
overrepresentation.
The Health Belief Model acts as a guiding tool to influence individuals in adopting adequate health
behavior. Based on this model we predict that migrants will take a recommended action if they believe
they are vulnerable to the disease, understands the severity of the disease, belief that healthy behavior
will reduce susceptibility and the severe consequences, acknowledges the obstacles of adopting
healthy behavior, have internal and external factors motivating them towards undertaking action and
lastly if they believe to be competent in overcoming barriers. Our department believes that one of
these components is insufficient to fully understand migrants' unhealthy behavior. Quantitative
surveys are therefore needed to identify these gaps and understand why migrants are behaving
unhealthily. However, many possible outcomes can be anticipated such as the migrants' poor health
literacy. This can pose a significant gap which could explain the lack of adherence to the
governmental measurements. We believe that health education workshops with interpreters would be
an appropriate solution to empower migrants in small groups at their community centers. These
workshops would include visual presentations that target migrants' perception of risk and
consequences of the disease and could boost healthy behavior. The unfortunate reality is that
morbidity deems to be higher amongst migrants compared to the general population. If this
information is apparent, it could trigger emotions and convince migrants of their gains in adhering to
the measurements. Additionally, including supportive peer and social networks could also increase
healthy behavior as poor social skills are expected. If migrants are still behaving unhealthy, training
workshops and giving verbal reinforcements can enforce self-efficacy by boosting the migrants'
confidence. This will motivate them to adopt healthy behavior.
This intervention aims to promote education which is one of the core components of the social
determinants of health. Our strategy is to identify and mitigate knowledge gaps migrants are facing.
2
