Between Borders and Viruses: A Time Series Analysis of Healthcare Use by Asylum-Seekers

Hatice Genç Kavas; Ahmet Şengönül

doi:10.37880/cumuiibf.1681210

TR EN

Sığınmacıların Sağlık Hizmetlerini Kullanımına İlişkin Ampirik Bir Çalışma: ARDL'den Kanıtlar

Öz

Amaç: Göçmen yoğunluğunun küresel olarak arttığı son dönemde, göçmen davranışlarını analiz etme ve buna göre yorumlama yapma gerekliliği belirginleşmiştir. Bu çalışmada, sığınmacıların ve yerel halkın sağlık hizmetlerinden yararlanma davranışlarının COVID-19 salgını öncesi ve sonrasında nasıl değiştiği ve salgınla ilişkili değişkenlerin sığınmacıların motivasyonunu nasıl etkilediği analiz edilmektedir. Yöntemler: Pandemi sırasında Türkiye'deki vaka, ölüm ve aşılama sayılarının sığınmacıların hastane ziyaretleri üzerinde caydırıcı veya çekici bir etkisi olup olmadığını inceledik. Hastane bölümlerine (tüm poliklinikler - 55 bölüm -) başvurular, bağımlı değişken olarak kullanıldı. Açıklayıcı değişkenlerin bağımlı değişken üzerindeki kısa ve uzun vadeli etkileri, Gecikmesi Dağıtılmış Otoregresif Gecikme Modeli (ARDL) kullanılarak tahmin edildi. Sonuçlar: Genel pandemi durumunun sığınmacılar arasında uzun vadeli sağlık hizmeti kullanımını önemli ölçüde etkilediğini bulduk. Kısa vadede, yalnızca aşıların önemli bir etkisi vardı. Ayrıca sığınmacıların toplam sağlık hizmeti kullanımının yalnızca %1'ini oluşturduğunu, kalan %99'unun ise yerel halk tarafından kullanıldığını bulduk. Sonuçlar: Sığınmacıların sağlık hizmeti kullanımının sosyal ve ekonomik etkisi değerlendirildiğinde, pandemi dışı dönemlerde ve pandemiler sırasında bu hastalar için uygun politikaların belirlenmesi gerekebilir. Yerel halkın tepkilerinin artmasını önlemek için, doğru veriler ve mevcut durumun fırsatları kamuoyuna iletilebilir. Sağlık kuruluşları için bir fırsat olarak hedef pazar oluşturabilecek bu hastalar için farklı pazarlama faaliyetlerinin uygulanması gerekebilir. Aşılama politikaları dikkatlice düşünülmelidir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Between Borders and Viruses: A Time Series Analysis of Healthcare Use by Asylum-Seekers

Abstract

Objective: In the recent period when the density of immigrants has increased globally, the necessity of analyzing immigrant behaviors and making interpretations accordingly has become evident. This study analyzes how the healthcare utilization behaviors of asylum-seekers and locals changed before and after the COVID-19 pandemic and how pandemic-related variables affect asylum-seekers' motivation. Methods: We examined whether the number of cases, deaths, and vaccinations in Turkey during the pandemic had a deterrent or attractive effect on hospital visits by asylum-seekers. Admissions to hospital departments (all medicine departments- 55 departments-) were used as the dependent variable. The short-term and long-term effects of explanatory variables on the dependent variable were estimated using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. Results: We found that the overall pandemic situation significantly impacted long-term healthcare use among asylum-seekers. In the short term, only vaccines had a significant impact. We also found that asylum-seekers accounted for only 1% of total healthcare use, with the remaining 99% used by the locals. Conclusions: When the social and economic impact of asylum-seekers' healthcare services use is evaluated, it may be necessary to determine appropriate policies for these patients in non-pandemic periods and during pandemics. To prevent local’s reactions from growing, accurate data and the opportunities of the current situation can be conveyed to the public. Different marketing activities may need to be implemented for these patients, who can also constitute a target market as an opportunity for healthcare institutions. Vaccination policies should be carefully considered.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

Sivas Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi

Ethical Statement

Sayı : 60263016-050.06.04-E.482051 Konu : Etik Kurul Kararı 05/10/2020 tarihinde etik kurul kararı verilmiştir

Thanks

We thank 2024 International Economy, Finance and Business Congress participants for their helpful comments. We are also grateful to the Sivas Provincial Health Directorate and hospital data processing personnel for providing the admission data.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Policy and Administration (Other) , Business Administration

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Hatice Genç Kavas ^*
0000-0002-6813-529X
Türkiye

Ahmet Şengönül
0000-0002-4999-1461
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

July 19, 2025

Publication Date

July 25, 2025

Submission Date

April 22, 2025

Acceptance Date

July 10, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 26 Number: 3

DOI

https://doi.org/10.37880/cumuiibf.1681210

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA59MW43WF

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Genç Kavas, H., & Şengönül, A. (2025). Between Borders and Viruses: A Time Series Analysis of Healthcare Use by Asylum-Seekers. Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi İktisadi Ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi, 26(3), 485-494. https://doi.org/10.37880/cumuiibf.1681210