Migrating over all international borders is an emerging phenomenon of 21st century globalization. One of the greatest impacts of immigration on the life of a person who has migrated is occupational deprivation. Occupational deprivation is a “state in which a person or group of people are unable to do what is necessary and meaningful in their lives due to external restrictions. It is a state in which the opportunity to perform those occupations that have social, cultural, and personal relevance is rendered difficult if not impossible” (p200). Human occupation is reliant on one’s cultural, social, contextual, historical, and geographic components. People who have migrated try to adopt new and unfamiliar, sometimes meaningless, occupations to adapt to their new culture and integrate into new society. Occupation advances the adaptation, reconciliation, and integration required to handle the relocation. Occupational access and opportunity are critical elements of success in transition, enabling people to reconstruct a sense of doing, being, belonging and becoming.
Immigrants experience emotional changes when moving to the host country: many feel lost assets and left behind all of their achievements. They find themselves under qualified, dependent and ineffective beings who lost his/her familiar environment and context. Inside migrant populations, the absence of social coherence, unsteadiness in the family home, brokenness in the relationship can lead to uncertainty in roles and identity, and sense of exclusion and segregation. These are contributors to depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mental and physical health issues.
Immigrants experience a variety of barriers to participate in desired occupations. The barriers such as limited English proficiency, lack of networking, cultural shock, transportation issues, limited opportunities for hanging out with friends, limited information and access to network and services, lack of effective communication with health care providers, limited knowledge of diseases and diagnosis, and lack of motivation which result to seclusion, isolation, fatigue, mental health issues, and feeling frustration with their lives in their new context. These obstacles keep migrants from knowing, comprehending, and participating in solid occupations, for example, some type of exercise, homemade and healthy cooking, entertaining, and socializing. In addition, migrants are significantly less likely to take part in physical activities because of issues such as motivation, access and digesting the system.
On the other side, moving to another nation, newcomers may realize that their occupations hindered by policies, for example, limited access to work, study, public charges, and housing. Policy-related barriers may cause long-lasting negative consequences for individuals and their families. Racist social attitudes, governmental regulations that encourage inequality and inequity and the social media environment in which fight against migration can be all considered as barriers for social participation and occupational engagement in immigrants’ community and contribute to occupational injustice.
Below is a visual that depicts the barriers of occupational engagement over the migration process and its consequences.
People are engaged in the activity of their choice and participate in the community when they live in their country of origin. After migration and moving to another county, they try to develop sense of doing, being, becoming and belonging while their identify, roles and routines are shifting. In the meanwhile, they are dealing with many barriers such as language, job, racism and discrimination, limited social network, instability in family, education, media, policies, limited health resources and poor health status, housing, lack of community resources and transportation. All of these barriers lead to occupational deprivation, loneliness, social isolation, fatigue, cultural shock and routine disturbance which eventually result in poor health condition both physically and mentally and consequently less life satisfaction and diminished identity.
References
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