The Link between Migration and Health: A Longitudinal Analysis in Indonesia, and A New National Survey on Migration and Health in China

Migration and health are two areas that have each received significant amounts of attention in sociology. However, only recently have researchers begun to examine the links between these two population processes. There is growing yet incomplete evidence that migration and the health are intertwined in complex ways. Health itself can impact the decision to move, and migration may affect the health of those who move, those who stay, and those who host migrants. Using high quality longitudinal data from Indonesia, Lu's research makes a serious attempt to tackle important questions about the association between migration and health in the Indonesian context. In particular, she examines both how health may affect migration decisions, and how changing socioeconomic conditions associated with migration may have implications for the health of various populations involved, including not only migrants but also people left behind in sending communities. Lu will also discuss research underway on migration and health in China, including a new national survey with data to study that topic in the Chinese context.

Yao Lu is a Ph.D. candidate of Sociology, M.S. candidate of Public Health, and student affiliate at the California Center for Population Research at UCLA. She has a BS from Fudan University in China. Her research focuses on studying the causes and consequences of internal migration in developing countries, and modeling socioeconomic and behavioral factors as determinants of health. Her papers include studies based on data from China, Indonesia, and South Africa. She has a paper forthcoming in the American Sociological Review, and has received dissertation fellowships from the AAUW foundation and the Asia Institute at UCLA. She is currently completing her dissertation on the relationship between labor migration and health in Indonesia, while working on a national survey project on internal migration and health in China.