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Despite increased involvement in the criminal justice system among populations of migrants, people who inject drugs, and drug-involved men in community corrections, few studies investigate associations between involvement in the criminal justice system and sexual and injection drug risks among these key-affected populations and their intimate partners. To address these gaps the following dissertation study investigated the association between exposures to the criminal justice system and sexual and injection drug risks among three key affected populations: 1) male labor migrants in Almaty, Kazakhstan, 2) people who inject drugs and their intimate partners in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and 3) drug-involved men in community corrections in New York City, NY in the United States. Using the three-paper model, the following dissertation sheds new insights into how exposures to the risk environment shape sexual and injection HIV risks to inform HIV prevention research and practice with populations disproportionately involved in criminal justice systems.

This dissertation applies place-based assimilation theories to understand the role of the school and other community-based institutions in the lives of immigrant families in a small rural town. The rate of immigration is increasing globally and over time, more and more children and families will be immigrants, finding themselves in a new community, making it imperative to understand the lived experiences of immigrant children and families. For most migrant families with school-aged children the school is the first point of contact in a new community. Thus, the school is well positioned to assist families in the integration process providing them with vital information and connections to resource-rich community-based institutions. This dissertation explores the relationship between families and community-based institutions in Provincetown Massachusetts, a small, coastal, rural community with a significant immigrant population. It is a narrative inquiry that employs qualitative research methods, specifically semi-structured interviews and visual research methods including photographs taken by immigrant students and photo elicitation interviews to answer the following questions: 1) What role does the school play in the process of immigrant families integrating into a new community?; 2) How do community-based institutions help or hinder immigrant families accessing resources and developing a sense of belonging?; 3) In what ways has the current COVID-19 health pandemic affected the work of community-based institutions and immigrant families’ interactions with them? Newly arrived families to Provincetown face food and housing insecurity and a lack of access to health care. There is however, a comprehensive web of community-based institutions with programs and resources to meet those needs. Access to most of these resources requires a referral or connection from an agency like the school, so families are reliant on schools for connection to these institutions. The school has formal mechanisms in place to help families. There are also informal mechanisms in the school to help families. This consists of individual teachers who develop deep and lasting relationships with a particular student and assist this student and his or her family using their own time and resources. This dissertation also explored the ways in which immigrant children in Provincetown find belonging. The children reported that they find belonging in the natural environment, through enrichment activities such as art clubs and sports teams, and through participation in the tourism work force, either by helping family members or beginning to work on their own. There are many institutions that work with the school and families to provide access to this enrichment programming, but there are barriers to participation. Immigrant children are often prevented from participating in enrichment activities outside of school hours because they have to care for younger siblings or lack transportation to and from afterschool events. There is also a disconnect between institutions and families because some institutions struggle to communicate with families. Some institutions have tried to respond to these barriers by providing transportation and parallel programming for siblings. This study also found that the school was the most successful way for institutions to communicate with families because of the well established communication patterns, available translation services and presence of school personnel who have taken an active interest in the outside lives of students. Many solutions in Provincetown are place-specific and the experiences of families in Provincetown are atypical because there are several factors that make Provincetown unique. It is a tourist town with access to financial resources that can fund many institutions and opportunities. The town is small, making the relationship between families and institutions more personal so that individuals and institutions become more invested in the lives and outcomes of individual families in a way that would not be possible in an urban area.

by Pui-hing Wong. / Thesis (M.S.W.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-122). / Questionnaire also in Chinese. / ABSTRACT --- p.ii-iii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.iv / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.v -vii / CHAPTER / Chapter 1 --- INTRODUCTION / The Research Problem --- p.1 / Research Objectives --- p.4 / Research Methodology --- p.4 / Significance Of The Research --- p.4 / Organisation Of The Thesis --- p.5 / Chapter 2 --- LITERATURE REVIEW / Introduction --- p.6 / Migration And Its Impacts --- p.6 / A Simple Concept Of Migration --- p.6 / A Concept Based On Uprooting --- p.7 / Female Immigrants --- p.9 / Their Adjustment Problems --- p.9 / Their Health Conditions --- p.11 / The Importance Of Social Support --- p.11 / The Chinese Female Immigrants In Hong Kong --- p.13 / Concept Of Social Support --- p.16 / Definition --- p.17 / Measurement --- p.19 / Its Relationship With Health --- p.23 / Concept Of Health --- p.26 / Summary --- p.28 / Chapter 3 --- CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK / Introduction --- p.29 / Delineation Of The Role of Social Support --- p.30 / Social Network --- p.31 / Support System --- p.32 / Research Questions --- p.34 / Operational Definitions --- p.35 / Summary --- p.37 / Chapter 4 --- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY / Introduction --- p.38 / Design --- p.38 / Sampling --- p.38 / Procedure --- p.40 / Instrument Used --- p.40 / Scale Measuring The Social Network --- p.40 / Scale Measuring Health --- p.42 / Analysis --- p.43 / Summary --- p.44 / Chapter 5 --- RESULTS / Analysis --- p.45 / Discussion --- p.59 / Chapter 6 --- SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS / Summary --- p.83 / Implications Of The Study --- p.84 / Directions For Further Research --- p.86 / APPENDICES --- p.88 / Appendix I: The Questionnaire --- p.88 / Appendix II: The English Version of The Questionnaire --- p.101 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.117

As the economic hub of South Africa, Johannesburg attracts cross-border migrants in search of improved livelihoods; over half the population of some of its inner-city suburbs are made up of cross border migrants. Globally as well as locally, foreigners have been blamed for the spread of diseases such as HIV. As a result, they have suffered challenges in accessing public healthcare, particularly antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV. Studies have shown that despite these challenges - foreigners experienced better ART outcomes than nationals. There is a need to explore the ways in which cross border migrants use to access and to stay on treatment, given the wide-range of challenges that they face during their stay in Johannesburg. Semi-structured interviews with five nurses and ten cross-border migrants currently receiving ART, along with non-participant observations, were used to collect data from two public clinics in inner-city Johannesburg. Analysis suggests that the family network in the country of origin remains critical, as cross border migrants are not disclosing their status in the city in which they live, but do so to their families in their countries of origin. Data shows that when it comes to accessing and staying on treatment, cross-border migrants go to the clinic every month as do nationals; ask for more treatment from nurses when going home temporarily; eat healthily; but hide when taking medication, and negotiate confidentiality and trust within their families in countries of origin. Some are found to access treatment in their countries of origin while staying in Johannesburg. Despite the lack of social networks in the inner city, this data suggests that cross-border migrants are successful in accessing and continuing with ART. There is need for future research to look at social networks for internal migrants, so as to compare results.

This study assessed the role of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in HIV-prevention among mobile and vulnerable populations (MVPs) and potential emigrants in Beitbridge. A mixed-method approach, which combines quantitative and qualitative approaches, was used in this action research. A total of 20 in-depth face-toface interviews were conducted with key informants and 56 self-administered questionnaires were completed by MVPs and potential emigrants in Beitbridge. The study found that a number of effective strategies are currently being implemented as a preventative measure by the IOM within MVPs and potential emigrants’ communities in Beitbridge. At the same time, however, in order to ensure sustainability of these HIVprevention initiatives, the IOM must promote long-term synergies with other strategic partners throughout the project cycle. It is recommended that, the IOM strategically position itself by moving a step further from being the sole provider of emergency humanitarian support towards devising sustainable and durable solutions among MVPs and potential emigrants. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV-AIDS)

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Migration and Displacement Studies), March 2017 / Background: Policy responses to communicable diseases and other noncommunicable ones in South (ern) Africa have not adequately engaged with mobility. While Southern African Development Community member states have all adopted clear policies and programmes to deal with communicable diseases for their population in South Africa and elsewhere, deliberately, these do not extend to non nationals. In South Africa, there is a perception that many health care workers are not aware of national health policies and legislation that affect their practice, which leads to poor outcomes. But, in reality, a number of polices and guidelines are incomplete or inapplicable to non nationals, making frontline discretion unavoidable. Objectives: This study mainly sought to understand the practices that frontline health care workers adopt to navigate a space of blurred policy and the “grey areas inbetween” (McConnel, 2010), in relation to migration and antiretroviral treatment, using bottom-up policy analysis, namely “street-level bureaucracy” (Lipsky, 2010) as an analytical tool. Methods: Qualitative methods were used including policy review, literature review, in-depth interviews with frontline health care workers and participant observation. Findings: Empirical research in Vhembe district and Johannesburg found that in spite of several institutional challenges, health care workers were providing health care services and antiretroviral treatment to various categories of non-nationals reliant on public health care, albeit sometimes with some difficulties. But, the difficulties they faced in providing antiretroviral treatment were policy and systems related, in that, those that had a hard time accessing treatment did so because they were not in possession of identity documents, required referral letters or spoke non-native languages in the absence of translation services. This thesis illustrates the various innovations frontline health care workers employed to address these challenges. It demonstrates that health care workers discretion plays a crucial role in health care delivery, and there is need to recognise the importance of informal elements such as human relationships, communication networks, leadership and motivation towards the policy function of the country’s health system. It concludes that the informal practices of frontline health care workers ought not only to be recognised but also strengthened where possible. / XL2018

This study assessed the role of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in HIV-prevention among mobile and vulnerable populations (MVPs) and potential emigrants in Beitbridge. A mixed-method approach, which combines quantitative and qualitative approaches, was used in this action research. A total of 20 in-depth face-toface interviews were conducted with key informants and 56 self-administered questionnaires were completed by MVPs and potential emigrants in Beitbridge. The study found that a number of effective strategies are currently being implemented as a preventative measure by the IOM within MVPs and potential emigrants’ communities in Beitbridge. At the same time, however, in order to ensure sustainability of these HIVprevention initiatives, the IOM must promote long-term synergies with other strategic partners throughout the project cycle. It is recommended that, the IOM strategically position itself by moving a step further from being the sole provider of emergency humanitarian support towards devising sustainable and durable solutions among MVPs and potential emigrants. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV-AIDS)

This dissertation consists of three papers at the intersection of social policy and immigration. The first paper analyzes the impact of immigrant welfare exclusion on government social spending at both an aggregate and specific social program level, using cross-national social expenditure panel data from 21 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries between 1990 and 2015 and taking advantage of the significant variation in welfare exclusivity across OECD countries by year. The second paper utilizes the variation in states’ response to the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion to investigate its effects on low-income immigrants’ inter-state mobility, specifically in-migration, and out-migration. Finally, the third paper utilizes data from the National Survey of Children’s Health to examine the effect of the announcement of the Trump administration’s revised Public Charge rule on insurance coverage and other health outcomes for children of immigrant parents.