Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26661796›Full record

ArticleSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2016

Workplace and security stressors and mental health among migrant workers on the Thailand-Myanmar border.

Sarah R Meyer, Michele R Decker, Wietse A Tol, Nada Abshir, Aye Aye Mar, W Courtland Robinson

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Between Syndemics and Structural Exploitation: Health Barriers of Migrant Agricultural Workers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Sarah R MeyerProgram on Forced Migration and Health, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. sarah.r.meyer@gmail.com.
Michele R DeckerDepartment of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Wietse A TolDepartment of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Nada AbshirIndependent Consultant, Nairobi, Kenya.
Aye Aye MarSocial Action for Women, Mae Sot, Thailand.
W Courtland RobinsonDepartment of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Johns Hopkins University · USAfrican Conservation Centre · KEColumbia University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMigrant workers in low-resource settings may experience multiple types of workplace and security-related stressors. This study explores the relationship between these stressors and adverse mental health outcomes, through a study of migrant workers from Myanmar, working in agriculture, factory, and sex industries in and around Mae Sot, Thailand.

methodsRespondent-driven sampling was used to recruit a total sample of 589 male and female migrants. Trained data collectors administered a survey, which included measures of workplace and security-related stressors, and depression and anxiety symptoms. Multivariate regression models were conducted separately for depression and anxiety symptoms.

resultsFor male agricultural workers, security stressors (β = 1.9, p = .001) are associated with an increase in depression symptoms and coercive working conditions are associated with an increase in anxiety symptoms (β = .8, p = .000). For female agricultural workers, daily hassles and stressors were associated with both depression (β = 1.5, p = .000) and anxiety (β = .5, p = .027), and barriers to exit (β = 3.0, p = .005) and security stressors (β = .9, p = .010) were significantly associated with increased depression symptoms. In the factory subsample, sexual assault and abuse (depression: β = 2.7, p = .009; anxiety: β = 2.8, p = .002) and daily hassles and stressors (depression: β = .7, p = .007; anxiety: β = .7, p = .001) were both significantly associated with increased depression and anxiety symptoms for males. Other categories of stressors similarly showed different associations with mental health outcomes between occupational groups, and between male and female migrant workers.

conclusionThe differing influences of stressors on mental health between the three occupational groups, and between males and females, indicate the need for targeted and tailored approaches to reduce specific stressors and improve services to address mental health needs. Prevention and response need to recognize the differences in working conditions, vulnerabilities, and needs between occupational groups, and between male and female migrant workers.

Indexed as

Security MeasuresWorkplaceAdolescentAdultAnxiety DisordersCross-Sectional StudiesDepressive DisorderFemaleHealth SurveysHumansMaleMiddle AgedMyanmarRisk FactorsStress, PsychologicalThailandMental healthMigrationMyanmarStressorsThailand

Identifiers

PMID26661796
OpenAlexW2292921439

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.