School health for migrant children: a myth or a must?

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic data

	Migrants Learning Centers	Thai Public Schools
Number	247	128
Age (year)
Mean	10.3	10.5
Min	5.2	3.8
Max	19.6	19.1
SD	3.9	3.3
Race – n (%)
Thai	0	44 (35.5)
Burmese	240 (98.4)	73 (58.9)
Laos	1 (0.4)	0
Displaced Thai	1 (0.4)	7 (5.6)
Unknown	2 (0.8)	0
Education Level – n (%)
Pre-School	73 (29.6)	24 (19.0)
Primary School	104 (42.1)	99 (78.6)
Secondary and high school	70 (28.3)	3 (2.4)
Parental Occupations – n (%)
No specific work	43 (17.8)	73 (62.4)
Construction Labor	33 (13.6)	13 (11.1)
Housemaid	9 (3.7)	5 (4.3)
Vendor	7 (2.9)	21 (17.9)
Fisherman	137 (56.6)	4 (3.4)
Other	13 (5.4)	1 (0.9)

Figure 1 Health insurance status of Thai and migrant children.

Figure 2 Birth countries and locations for Thai and migrant children.

Figure 3 Physical status descriptive analyses for height for age, weight for age, and weight for height. Height for age: 1 - short, 2 - slightly short, 3 - normal, 4 - slightly tall, 5 - tall. Weight for age: 1 - underweight, 2 - slightly underweight, 3 - normal, 4 - slightly overweight, 5 - overweight. Weight for height: 1 - thin, 2 - slightly thin, 3 - normal, 4 - possible risk of overweight, 5 - overweight, 6 - obese.

Table 2 Physicall status logistic regression analysis

	Weight for Height		Height for Age		Weight for Age
	Odds Ratio (CI)	p-value	Odds Ratio (CI)	p-value	Odds Ratio (CI)	p-value
Primary School	2.228 (0.933–5.323)	0.071	4.643** (1.738–12.407)	0.002	4.530** (1.758–11.672)	0.002
Secondary and High School	0.936 (0.309–2.836)	0.908	0.839 (0.305–2.309)	0.734	1.063 (0.379–2.987)	0.907
Migrant Children in TPS	0.520 (0.172–1.578)	0.249	0.401 (0.099–1.627)	0.201	0.190* (0.039–0.930)	0.04
Migrant Children in MLC	2.821 (0.903–8.817)	0.074	1.736 (0.449–6.717)	0.424	1.024 (0.215–4.882)	0.976

Notes: *P-value<0.05; **P-value<0.01.

Abbreviations: TPS, Thai public school; MLC, migrant learning center; CI, confidence interval.

Figure 4 Hygiene behaviors descriptive analysis.

Table 3 Hygiene behaviors logistic regression analysis

	Shoes Wearing		Nails Cutting		Hair Washing		Bathing		Tooth Brushing		Dentist Visiting		Vaccination
	Odds Ratio (CI)	p-value	Odds Ratio (CI)	p-value	Odds Ratio (CI)	p-value	Odds Ratio (CI)	p-value	Odds Ratio (CI)	p-value	Odds Ratio (CI)	p-value	Odds Ratio (CI)	p-value
Primary School	3.929 (0.228–67.692)	0.346	0.647 (0.259–1.619)	0.352	3.622** (1.666–7.880)	0.001	0.599 (0.059–6.104)	0.655	2.256 (0.342–14.892)	0.398	0.127^+ (0.048–0.334)	<0.001	0.497* (0.288–0.855)	0.012
Secondary and High School	NA^#	-	0.154** (0.050–0.476)	0.001	0.443* (0.203–0.963)	0.04	0.282 (0.028–2.796)	0.279	0.435 (0.049–3.833)	0.453	4.928** (1.700–14.280)	0.003	0.894 (0.464–1.724)	0.738
Migrants Children in TPS	1.671 (0.097–28.780)	0.724	0.408 (0.164–1.013)	0.053	0.244* (0.080–0.742)	0.013	1.626 (0.163–16.261)	0.679	0.523 (0051–5.393)	0.586	0.198** (0.076–0.517)	0.001	0.457 (0.186–1.120)	0.087
Migrants Children in MLC	NA^$	-	4.988 (1.759–14.146)	0.053	1.620 (0.548–4.791)	0.383	NA^&	-	3.280 (0.281–38.259)	0.343	0.156^+ (0.004–0.055)	<0.001	0.264* (0.115–0.607)	0.002

Notes: *P-value<0.05 **P-value<0.01, ⁺P-value<0.001; NA^#, Not Applicable; All secondary and high school children wore shoes, causing perfect prediction with logistic model; NA^$, Not Applicable; All Migrants Children in MLC wore shoes, causing perfect prediction with logistic model, NA^&, Not Applicable; All Migrants Children in MLC did bathing, causing perfect prediction with logistic model.

Abbreviations: TPS, Thai Public School; MLC, Migrant Learning Center; CI, Confidence Interval.