Korean J Occup Health Nurs.  2009 May;18(1):5-13.

Health Status of Migrant Workers in Korea

• Lee HY
• Stephania
• Cho YI
• Choi EY
• Park JA
• Park YM

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to investigate health problems of migrant workers in Korea.
METHODS
The data were collected from the records of the medical history of 2,233 migrant workers who visited the community health clinic in Ansan city, Gyeonggi province from Jan. 2005 to Jan. 2007. The data were analyzed by SPSS.
RESULTS
Men accounted for 56.4% of the total who participated in the study. Most of them were Chinese, Russian, and Bangladesh people. The 590 people out of all the migrant workers were employed in manufacturing industries and they comprised the largest percentage. The most commonly complained health problems were musculoskeletal (31.7%), digestive (20.7%), respiratory (12.5%), dermatologic (6.5%), cardiovascular (5.5%) and dental disorder (5.2%). The 1,853 (36.0%) workers were assumed to have hypertensive disorder and 1310 (11.1%) workers ,some diseases due to high cholesterol level.
CONCLUSIONS
It is necessary to establish a public health care system to improve health and welfare of migrant workers. Furthermore, the communities need to draw their attention to this matter. And it is also necessary to make accurate research on their health and medical service.

Keyword

Migrant workers; Health status

MeSH Terms

Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Bangladesh
Cholesterol
Humans
Korea
Male
Public Health
Transients and Migrants
Cholesterol