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Experiences of male irregular migrants during their migration process and reception in Spain: lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic

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dc.creator García López, Dulcenombre de María
dc.creator Jiménez Lasserrotte, María del Mar
dc.creator Briones Vozmediano, Erica Tula
dc.creator Ruiz Fernández, María Dolores
dc.creator Hernández Padilla, José Manuel
dc.creator Granero Molina, José
dc.date 2024
dc.date.accessioned 2025-11-03T12:15:13Z
dc.date.available 2025-11-03T12:15:13Z
dc.identifier https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1387715
dc.identifier 2296-2565
dc.identifier https://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/467063
dc.identifier.uri http://fima-docencia.ub.edu:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/23994
dc.description Background: The causes behind migration movements are complex. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how several countries failed to respond to the virus adequately, while simultaneously infringing on people’s rights. Male irregular migrants fled their countries of origin and embarked on a perilous migration journey to Spain. The highly restrictive COVID-19 measures and border closures affected the mobility of male irregular migrants, whose reception in the host country posed a challenge. It led to the establishment of emergency facilities to accommodate male irregular migrants affected by COVID-19, which had repercussions on their mental health. The aim of this study was to describe and understand the experiences of male irregular migrants throughout their migration process and reception in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Qualitative descriptive study. Sixteen male irregular migrants participated in this study. Data were collected between January and March 2023 through 16 one-on-one in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data using ATLAS.ti computer software. Results: Three main themes emerged: (1) How the COVID-19 pandemic drove male irregular migrants to leave their countries of origin, (2) How COVID-19 lockdown policies affected the migration journey, and (3) Receiving male irregular migrants in a pandemic: a housing labyrinth marked by isolation and loneliness. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic increased the social, employment and health inequalities experienced by male irregular migrants. Border closures exacerbated the migration journey and the social stigmatization of this group, who were seen as carriers of the virus in both transit and host countries. Strict control measures in emergency and reception facilities had a significant psychological impact on the male irregular migrants due to the social isolation they experienced. Health institutions should develop programs to guarantee the care needs of irregular migrants.
dc.description The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was funded by the Spanish General Nursing Council (PNI_CGE88). It has been supported by the University of Almeria’s Health Sciences Research Group (CTS-451).
dc.language eng
dc.publisher Frontiers Media
dc.relation Reproducció del document publicat a https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1387715
dc.relation Frontiers in Public Health, 2024, vol. 12
dc.rights cc-by (c) Dulcenombre de María García-López et al., 2024
dc.rights Attribution 4.0 International
dc.rights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject COVID-19
dc.subject Emergency care
dc.subject Government response
dc.subject Irregular migrant
dc.title Experiences of male irregular migrants during their migration process and reception in Spain: lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic
dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion


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