Health inequality of rural-to-urban migrant workers in eastern China and its decomposition: a comparative cross-sectional study.

Objectives: As a specific group with high health inequality, it is crucial to improve the health status and health inequalities of rural-to-urban migrant workers. This study aimed to evaluate the health inequality of migrant and urban workers in China and decompose it. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out, using a standardized questionnaire to obtain basic information, self-rated health to evaluate health status, concentration index to measure health inequalities, and WDW decomposition to analyze the causes of health inequalities. Results: The concentration index of health for migrants was 0.021 and 0.009 for urban workers. The main factors contributing to health inequality among rural-to-urban migrant workers included income, exercise, and age. In contrast, the main factors of health inequality among urban workers included income, the number of chronic diseases, social support, and education. Conclusion: There were health inequalities in both rural-to-urban migrant and urban workers. The government and relevant authorities should formulate timely policies and take targeted measures to reduce income disparities among workers, thereby improving health inequality.

Exploring risky health behaviors and vulnerability to sexually transmitted diseases among transnational undocumented labor migrants from Bangladesh: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: In Bangladesh, remittances constitute a substantial portion of the country's foreign exchange earnings and serve as a primary source of income. However, a considerable number of Bangladeshi citizens reside overseas without proper documentation, exposing them to significant challenges such as limited access to healthcare and socioeconomic opportunities. Moreover, their irregular migration status often results in engaging in risky health behaviors that further exacerbate their vulnerability. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the risky health behavior and HIV/STI susceptibility of Bangladeshi irregular international migrants residing across the globe with undocumented status. METHODS: Using a qualitative Interpretative Phenomenological Approach (IPA), 25 illegal migrants were interviewed who are currently living illegally or returned to their home country. The author used a thematic approach to code and analyze the data, combining an integrated data-driven inductive approach with a deductive approach. Concurrent processing and coding were facilitated by employing the Granheim model in data analysis. RESULTS: The study identified four risky health behaviors among irregular Bangladeshi migrants: hazardous living conditions, risky jobs, suicidal ideation, and tobacco consumption. Additionally, the authors found some HIV/STI risk behavior among them including engaging in unprotected sex, consuming alcohol and drugs during sexual activity, and having limited access to medical facilities. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study can be used by health professional, governments, policymakers, NGOs, and concerned agencies to develop welfare strategies and initiatives for vulnerable undocumented migrant workers.

Migrant well-being and undocumented status in South Korea: a cross-sectional assessment of physical, psychological, social well-being, and health behaviors.

BACKGROUND: A high burden of physical, mental, and occupational health problems among migrant workers has been well-documented, but data on undocumented migrant workers are limited and their well-being has rarely been compared to that of the general population. METHODS: Using data from a cross-sectional survey of non-professional migrant workers in South Korea in early 2021, we described their physical, psychological, social well-being and health behaviors across a wide range of outcomes, including self-rated health, occupational injury, cigarette smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, meal pattern, happiness, mental illness, social support, and social participation. The outcomes were first compared between documented and undocumented migrant workers in generalized linear regressions adjusting for potential confounders. Then, the well-being of the migrant workers was compared against that of the general population using data from the Korean Happiness Survey, which is a nationally representative survey of the South Korean general population conducted in late 2020. The parametric g-formula was performed to adjust for potential confounders. RESULTS: After adjusting for potential confounders, the undocumented migrant workers were less likely to be happy or participate in social communities, and much more likely to have anxiety or depression, smoke cigarettes, or engage in heavy alcohol consumption than the documented migrant workers. When compared to the general South Korean population, an evident social gradient emerged for happiness and mental illness; the undocumented experienced the worst outcome, followed by the documented, and then the general population. Also, the undocumented migrant workers were more likely to smoke cigarettes than the general population. CONCLUSION: The undocumented migrant workers face considerably greater challenges in terms of mental health and happiness, demonstrate higher rates of risky health behaviors such as smoking and heavy drinking, and experience a lack of social support and community integration. A stark social gradient in happiness, mental illness, and cigarette smoking exists among the documented, undocumented migrant workers and the general population in South Korea. Socio-structural factors are likely to play a crucial role in contributing to the suboptimal level of overall well-being of undocumented migrant workers. Policy-level interventions as well as interpersonal efforts are in urgent need.

HIV knowledge, self-perception of HIV risk, and sexual risk behaviors among male Tajik labor migrants who inject drugs in Moscow.

BACKGROUND: The interplay of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) knowledge and self-perception of risk for HIV among people who inject drugs is complex and understudied, especially among temporary migrant workers who inject drugs (MWID) while in a host country. In Russia, Tajik migrants make up the largest proportion of Moscow's foreign labor. Yet, HIV knowledge and self-perceived risk in association with sexual risk behavior among male Tajik MWID in Moscow remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: This research examines knowledge about HIV transmission, self-perception of HIV risk, and key psychosocial factors that possibly contribute to sexual risk behaviors among male Tajik labor MWID living in Moscow. METHODS: Structured interviews were conducted with 420 male Tajik labor MWID. Modified Poisson regression models investigated possible associations between major risk factors and HIV sexual risk behavior. RESULTS: Of the 420 MWID, 255 men (61%) reported sexual activity in the last 30 days. Level of HIV knowledge was not associated in either direction with condom use or risky sexual partnering, as measured by sex with multiple partners or female sex workers (FSW). Lower self-perceived HIV risk was associated with a greater likelihood of sex with multiple partners (aPR: 1.79, 95% CI: 1.34, 2.40) and FSW (aPR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.59), but was not associated with condom use. Police-enacted stigma was associated with sex with multiple partners (aPR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.49) and FSW (aPR: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.54). While depression and lower levels of loneliness were associated with condomless sex (aPR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.24; aPR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.92, respectively), only depression was associated with condomless sex with FSW (aPR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.54). CONCLUSIONS: HIV prevention programing for male Tajik MWID must go beyond solely educating about factors associated with HIV transmission to include increased awareness of personal risk based on engaging in these behaviors. Additionally, psychological services to counter depression and police-enacted stigma are needed.

Mental health and current issues of migrant workers in Japan: A cross-sectional study of Vietnamese workers.

BACKGROUND: Over the past 5 years, the number of Vietnamese migrant workers in Japan has grown rapidly to become the largest group of migrant workers in the country. They hold various statuses of residence and are subjected to multifactorial stressors. AIMS: The current study's aim is to investigate the association between psychological distress experienced by Vietnamese workers and their work environment. Another aim is to discuss issues involving migrant workers by comparing the characteristics of workers in the major statuses of residence. METHODS: The study applied a cross-sectional design, and included a nationwide self-administered online questionnaire that was conducted in Vietnamese in 2022. The questionnaire included the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), workplace interpersonal factors as well as factors related to work and health. A multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate factors associated with psychological distress. RESULTS: Of 933 Vietnamese workers, 37% were grouped as distressed under the K10 cutoff. Fewer opportunities to speak with Japanese co-workers, lower welfare and workload ratings, and the visa statuses including 'Technical Intern Training' were significantly associated with psychological distress. Unexpectedly, those in 'Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (ESI)' category who are deemed to hold better conditions demonstrated the highest amounts of distress. CONCLUSION: Outside of unsatisfactory working environments, differing situations depending on status of residence could produce various sources of distress. The difficult aspects of Japan's distinct culture seem to contribute to their distress, especially for those who have more interactions with Japanese co-workers. A push for a multicultural society, where migrant workers can pursue proactive life designs of their own choosing, is warranted.

HIV Knowledge, Self-Perception of HIV Risk, and Sexual Risk Behaviors among Male Tajik Labor Migrants who inject Drugs in Moscow.

Background: The interplay of HIV knowledge and self-perception of risk for HIV among people who inject drugs is complex and understudied, especially among temporary migrant workers (MWID) who inject drugs while in a host country. In Russia, Tajik migrants make up the largest proportion of Moscow's foreign labor. Yet, HIV knowledge and self-perceived risk in association with sexual risk behavior among Tajik MWID in Moscow remains unknown. Objective: This research examines knowledge about HIV transmission, self-perception of HIV risk, and key psychosocial factors that possibly contribute to sexual risk behaviors among male Tajik MWIDs living in Moscow. Methods: Structured interviews were conducted with 420 male Tajik MWIDs. Modified Poisson regression models investigated possible associations between major risk factors and HIV sexual risk behavior. Results: Of the 420 MWIDs, 255 men (61%) reported sexual activity in the last 30 days. Level of HIV knowledge was not associated in either direction with condom use or risky sexual partnering, as measured by sex with multiple partners or female sex workers. Higher self-perceived HIV risk predicted less risky sexual partnering, but not condom use. Depression and police-enacted societal stigma were positively associated with risky sexual partnering, while loneliness and depression were associated with condomless sex. Conclusions: HIV prevention programing for male Tajik MWIDs must go beyond solely educating about factors associated with HIV transmission to include increased awareness of personal risk based on engaging in these behaviors. Additionally, psychological services to counter loneliness, depression, and societal stigma through police harassment are needed.

HIV and Hepatitis C Risk among Tajik Migrant Workers Who Inject Drugs in Moscow.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia continues to grow with most infections occurring in high-risk groups including people who inject drugs and their sexual partners. Labor migrants from this region who inject drugs while in Russia are at especially high HIV risk. Male Tajik migrant workers who inject drugs in Moscow (N = 420) were interviewed prior to a randomized trial of the Migrants' Approached Self-Learning Intervention in HIV/AIDS (MASLIHAT) peer-education HIV-prevention intervention. Participants were interviewed about their sex and drug use behavior and tested for HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) prior to the intervention. Only 17% had ever been tested for HIV. Over half of the men reported injecting with a previously used syringe in the past month, and substantial proportions reported risky sexual behavior. Prevalence rates of HIV (6.8%) and HCV (2.9%) were elevated, although lower than expected when compared to estimates of prevalence among people who inject drugs at the national level in Tajikistan. Risk behavior in diaspora varied across the men's regional area of origin in Tajikistan and occupation in Moscow, with HIV prevalence rates highest among those working at the bazaars. Evidence-based prevention approaches and messaging that specifically address the drug- and sex-related risk behavior of migrants with varying backgrounds are needed.

Use of Bluetooth contact tracing technology to model COVID-19 quarantine policies in high-risk closed populations.

Containment measures in high-risk closed settings, like migrant worker (MW) dormitories, are critical for mitigating emerging infectious disease outbreaks and protecting potentially vulnerable populations in outbreaks such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The direct impact of social distancing measures can be assessed through wearable contact tracing devices. Here, we developed an individual-based model using data collected through a Bluetooth wearable device that collected 33.6M and 52.8M contact events in two dormitories in Singapore, one apartment style and the other a barrack style, to assess the impact of measures to reduce the social contact of cases and their contacts. The simulation of highly detailed contact networks accounts for different infrastructural levels, including room, floor, block, and dormitory, and intensity in terms of being regular or transient. Via a branching process model, we then simulated outbreaks that matched the prevalence during the COVID-19 outbreak in the two dormitories and explored alternative scenarios for control. We found that strict isolation of all cases and quarantine of all contacts would lead to very low prevalence but that quarantining only regular contacts would lead to only marginally higher prevalence but substantially fewer total man-hours lost in quarantine. Reducing the density of contacts by 30% through the construction of additional dormitories was modelled to reduce the prevalence by 14 and 9% under smaller and larger outbreaks, respectively. Wearable contact tracing devices may be used not just for contact tracing efforts but also to inform alternative containment measures in high-risk closed settings.

Social support and quality of life in migrant workers: Focusing on the mediating effect of healthy lifestyle.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between social support and quality of life of Chinese migrant workers and to explore the mediating role of healthy lifestyles in social support and quality of life. Methods: Using a stratified multi-stage sampling method, 1, 298 migrant workers and 983 urban workers across 110 neighborhood committees in five economic development zones in eastern China were surveyed. The social support level of participants was quantified using the Social Support Rating Scale, and quality of life was evaluated using the SF-8. Healthy lifestyle was evaluated based on a combination of sleep, smoking, alcohol consumption, and exercise. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between quality of life and social support. Stepwise regression was used to analyze the mediating effect of healthy lifestyle, social support, and quality of life among migrant workers. Results: Total SSRS and total SF-8 scores of migrant workers were significantly higher than those of urban workers (P < 0.001). After controlling for confounders, social support showed an independent positive association with quality of life for both migrant (ß = 0.50, P < 0.05) and urban workers (ß = 0.62, P < 0.05). Mediation effect analysis revealed that healthy lifestyle partially mediated the relation between social support and quality of life of migrant workers with a mediation effect of 0.07, accounting for 11.70% of the total effect. Conclusions: This study showed a significant correlation between social support and quality of life of Chinese migrant workers, with healthy lifestyle playing a mediating role. Improving the social support and health literacy of migrant workers and developing a healthy lifestyle are key to improving their quality of life.

Betel Nut Consumption and the Reasons for Its Rise among Chinese Migrant Workers.

Background: In China, betel nut users were initially concentrated in specific regions and ethnic groups. However, in recent years, public health concerns have been raised because betel nuts, addictive substances, have become largely used by Chinese migrant workers. Methods: This study adopts an anthropological fieldwork research methodology to investigate the rise in betel nut consumption among Chinese migrant workers. We observe the everyday lives of migrant workers in the rural-urban area of Wuhan. We use in-depth interviews to understand their psychology and behaviors toward betel nut consumption. Discussion: The study's results indicate that the observed increase in betel nut consumption among migrant workers is not only the result of the spread of betel nuts across regions and groups, but more importantly, it is related to the working and living conditions, social interaction, consumption culture, and masculinity image of migrant workers. The consumption of betel nuts reflects the political-economic structure and socio-cultural background to which Chinese migrant workers belong. Conclusion: The increasing consumption of betel nuts is a social issue that requires thorough research and government engagement. We contend that anthropology research may help identify the social mechanisms incentivizing betel nut consumption and solve the related public health issues among Chinese migrant workers from public policy and social governance perspectives.

Humanitarian management strategy for interstate movement of migrant workers in India during COVID-19 pandemic: an optimization based approach.

India faced a unique situation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic when millions of migrant workers, in different states had to be transported to their home states as workplaces shut down. The governments in respective states faced challenges of minimizing economic impact while ensuring that the risk of infection was also kept under control. This paper develops models based on various secondary data from governmental and relevant non-governmental sources, trying to minimize the economic impact while keeping the rate of infection low and determining whether the migrant workforce should be allowed to stay in their workplace state or allowed to return to their home state. We found that the number of days of lockdown had a significant impact on the results. Fewer days of lockdown resulted in workers remaining in their work state as the preferred outcome, while a higher number of days of lockdown implied that people traveled to their home state and remain there. The proportion of workers who were willing to return to their work state played an important role on the results too. Beyond the threshold percentages of migrant workers returning to their work state, it became optimal for the government to encourage the workers to travel to their home state. However, this was mostly visible for moderate number of lockdown days as the effects on results were dominated by the impact from the number of lockdown days for too high or too low number of lockdown days. There is also an important trade-off between the budget and infection rate 'R' for the governments to consider. Minimizing the risk of infection requires an additional budget.

Characteristics of road traffic accident types and casualties in Guangzhou, China, from 2007 to 2020: A retrospective cohort study based on the general population.

Introduction: This study aimed to explore the trend and main influencing factors of road traffic accidents in Guangzhou, China, from 2007 to 2020 and to provide a reference and guidance for government decision-making. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was used to describe road traffic accidents in Guangzhou. According to the population types, all people with road traffic accidents were divided into migrant workers and the control population. We divided road users, administrative districts, motorcycle types and injury levels into subgroups to investigate the characteristics of road traffic accidents in Guangzhou. The road traffic accident data were derived from the Guangzhou Public Security Traffic Management Integrated System. Results: The incidence rate of road traffic accidents per 10,000 vehicles in Guangzhou decreased from 36.55 in 2007 to 10.07 in 2012, remained relatively stable at 9.47 in 2017, and finally rose to 11.12 in 2020. The injury rate showed the same trend as the incidence rate, while the mortality rate gradually decreased from 14.21 in 2007 to 5.19 in 2020. Vulnerable road users such as motorized two-to-three-wheeler drivers and migrant workers were casualties in more than 80% of the cases. The proportion of casualties involving mopeds and electric bicycles increased rapidly after 2018. Motor vehicle drivers frequently caused road traffic accidents and were most often uninjured. Conclusion: Road safety in Guangzhou has shown a clear trend of improvement, but casualties are uneven across administrative districts. More attention should be given to motorized two-to-three-wheelers, migrant workers, and road traffic violations by uninjured individuals.

Organisational Policies and Practices for the Inclusion of Vulnerable Workers: A Scoping Review of the Employer's Perspective.

Purpose Current models of inclusive workplaces are primarily based on the perceptions of vulnerable workers, whereas attention for employer's perceptions is lacking. This scoping review addresses this issue by mapping the literature that covers employer's perceptions on the application and importance of organisational policies and practices aimed at the inclusion of vulnerable workers. Methods A literature search for qualitative and quantitative research articles was conducted in MEDLINE, Scopus, ProQuest, PsychInfo, Google Scholar and Web of Science. Studies were included when (a) they reported on practices aimed at the inclusion, participation, or rehabilitation of (b) workers with disabilities, a low education or migration background, or who were long-term unemployed, and (c) were based on samples of employers or their representatives. Results The search resulted in 3,134 articles. In total, 38 articles met the inclusion criteria of this study. We identified seven types of inclusive practices to stimulate the inclusion of vulnerable workers that employers applied and/or perceived as valuable: senior management commitment, recruitment and selection, performance management and development practices, job accommodations and redesign of work, supportive culture, external collaborations with other employers, and monitoring. Conclusions Our review identified seven categories of inclusive practices that pertain to all stages of the employee journey of vulnerable workers. These categories move beyond those reported in studies based on employee samples, for instance by highlighting the importance of monitoring and collaborations with other employers. Hence, our findings stress that insight into employers' perceptions about effective measures is crucial to increase labour market participation of vulnerable groups.

Using mobile phone big data to discover the spatial patterns of rural migrant workers' return to work in China's three urban agglomerations in the post-COVID-19 era.

Knowing how workers return to work is a key policymaking issue for economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 era. This paper uses country-wide time-series mobile phone big data (comparing monthly and annual figures), obtained between February 2019 and October 2019 and between February 2020 and October 2020, to discover the spatial patterns of rural migrant workers' (RMWs') return to work in China's three urban agglomerations (UAs): the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta. Spatial patterns of RMWs' return to work and how these patterns vary with location, city level and human attribute were investigated using the fine-scale social sensing related to post-pandemic human mobility. The results confirmed the multidimensional spatiotemporal differentiations, interaction effects between variable pairs and effects of the actual situation on the changing patterns of RMWs' return to work. The spatial patterns of RMWs' return to work in China's major three UAs can be regarded as a comprehensive and complex interaction result accompanying the nationwide population redistribution, which was affected by various hidden factors. Our findings provide crucial implications and suggestions for data-informed policy decisions for a harmonious society in the post-COVID-19 era.

Nostrana, frustra, fiorata: migration patterns and the semantics of consumption in the Alps, mid-17th to late 18th centuries.

Labour migrants were a widespread phenomenon in the Alps during the early modern period and impacted the materiality of everyday life in the mountains. This article investigates traces of these movements in linguistic usage by exploring the way in which goods were described by actors from the Three Leagues, in present-day Switzerland and Italy. Provenances of goods were given by using toponyms that indicated the place of origin the more precise, the closer the location was to the Alps. These geographical terms informed about specific visual and tactile qualities and were introduced together with other technical vocabulary via specialized merchants and spread via shops to customers of the upper echelons. Small-scale retailers and occasional dealers made use of less detailed descriptions that can also be found in the accounts of their clients which resembled the language used in informal correspondences. These channels could be activated to gain more detailed information and thanks to the wide-spread networks of migrant labourers, knowledge was exchanged with and via the Alps. This exchange of information appears, however, to have become less intense when migration patterns changed in the aftermath of the French Revolutionary Wars.

The Impact of Public Health Education on Migrant Workers' Medical Service Utilization.

Based on the dynamic monitoring survey data of China's migrant population (CMDS) in 2017, this study analyzes the impact of public health education on migrant workers' medical service utilization. The study found that public health education can significantly promote the utilization of migrant workers' medical services and has a greater effect on the older generation groups, those who received secondary and higher education, and those working in first-tier cities. By distinguishing different types of public health education, it is found that smoking control education has the most obvious effect. Further differentiating disease types, the study found that the promotion effect of receiving occupational disease education is the highest, while the effect of receiving STD/AIDS education is relatively low. The mechanism test indicates that public health education has significantly improved migrant workers' utilization of medical services by influencing their health literacy, social network, and psychological integration.

Where there is a will, there's a way: Job search clarity, reemployment crafting and reemployment quality.

Job hunting is regarded as a self-regulatory process. However, few studies have examined the mechanism underlying the job search goal-performance relationship from the perspective of the self-regulatory behavior of reemployment crafting (RC). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the mediating role of RC in the relationship between job search clarity (JSC) and reemployment quality (RQ) and the moderating role of the reemployment context. A three-wave study was conducted among 295 rural migrant workers who had experienced unemployment to successful reemployment in China. Model 4 and Model 9 from SPSS macro PROCESS were used to test the moderated mediation model. The findings indicated that (1) JSC was positively correlated with RQ; (2) seeking resources (SR) and seeking challenging demands (SCD) fully mediated the relationship between JSC and RQ; (3) supportive environment (SEn) and challenging environment (CEn), independently, have moderating effect on the relationship between JSC and SR, as well as the relationship between JSC and SCD; and (4) the mediating effect of SR as well as SCD was significant and greater when SEn and CEn were both at high levels. This study contributes to goal-setting theory and highlights the important roles of RC and the reemployment context.

Indonesian Nurses' Journey in Passing the Japan National Nursing Licensure Examination.

Background: Despite the significant number of Indonesian nurses joining the Japanese National Nursing Licensure Examination (JNNLE), only a few of those were successful. Indonesian nurses as one of active migration player to Japan's market remain a critical support in supporting human resources for health in Japan. However, the successful nurses' perspectives have yet to be understood entirely. This study aimed to explore the experiences of Indonesian nurses who successfully passed the JNNLE. Methods: This study used a descriptive qualitative approach. The participants were twenty Indonesian nurses who have passed the licensure examination. This study was carried out by semi-structured interviews conducted virtually. The data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Results: Five themes were discovered in this study: language ability as the key to succeeding in the exam, strategies to passing the exam, supporting resources as factors to increase the passing rate, understanding the nature of nursing exam, and internal motivation to be recognized as a professional nurse in a foreign country. Conclusion: Indonesian nurses who passed the Japanese national nursing licensure examination tend to deploy planned strategies. Honing the language skills while working and living in Japan is very important, while structured support systems in the hospital, government, and social network are imperative to learning the new knowledge in the area of nursing care in Japan.

Health literacy and health care experiences of migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Migrant workers are among the most vulnerable populations in society. This study explored the health-literacy experiences of migrant workers in South Korea and how the workers'daily lives have been affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a series of semi-structured individual and focus-group interviews with 23 migrant workers (eight Cambodians, six Nepalese, four Sri Lankans, three Bangladeshis, and two Pakistanis) residing in the Daegu and Busan metropolitan areas of South Korea. All interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS: Migrant workers had difficulty accessing and using health care services due, in large part, to linguistic barriers and a lack of an adequate support system. Four main themes were identified: difficulty understanding and using medical services, obtaining necessary health and safety information, the impact of COVID-19, and protecting oneself from becoming infected with COVID-19. Most workers depended on information from social networking services (SNS) and co-workers. CONCLUSIONS: Migrant workers' difficulty with health care access was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings suggest the necessity of enhancing migrant workers' health literacy, along with the use of SNS as a viable pathway for sharing health information and resources.