Researching migration and health

Research into the health-selectivity of migration, geographic patterns of mobility and their relationship to health and mortality has come a long way since Farr's early observation. This chapter presents the history of this field of research, thereby introducing key contemporary studies examining the relationship between migration and health. It reviews the methodological parameters of this body of work before concluding with speculation as to future areas of inquiry within and beyond existing parameters of research. The specific perspective adopted within selective migration research is largely determined by the nature of available data: how migrants are identified, how health is measured, what relevant compositional data exist and, crucially, what level of geographic and/or temporal detail are available. The chapter explores existing debates in this field of research, before considering what methodological parameters may be shaping the conclusions.