Theoretical perspectives on health and migration: social determinants, transnationalism, and structural vulnerability

Abstract

This article critically analyzes the three major
contemporary theoretical approaches in addressing
health and migration: the social determinants of
health approach of the World Health Organization;
studies on transnationalism and health; and
current proposals on structural vulnerability.
To this end, the core ideas that characterize each
of these approaches and the main criticisms made
are presented. Given that most of the current
literature is being published in English, this article
summarizes some of the main contributions in the
field for the Spanish-speaking public, constituting
the first work of this type to include the structural
vulnerability approach. The analysis was carried
out with CAQDAS Nvivo, using summarizing,
structuring, and explanatory content analysis.
The article emphasizes the importance of the
processes of structural determination of the
health of migrants and concludes by advocating
an analysis of the scientific conventions present
in the theoretical perspectives, insofar as these
have a concrete impact on the health of migrants,
as policy’s foundations and as raw material for
common sense.