Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41286803›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2025

Labor migration in rural Nepal Arghakhanchi communities: impacts on left-behind caregivers and children.

Sirjana Adhikari, Mahesh Prasad Joshi, Hari Rana, Sabrina Cheng, Theresa P Castillo, Peter Navario, Michelle Boyd, Keng-Yen Huang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Sirjana AdhikariCWIN- Nepal, Ravi Bhawan, Kathmandu, Nepal. adhikarisirjana16@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-6044-3765
Mahesh Prasad JoshiTribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Hari RanaHealthRight International- Jwagal, Lalitpur, Nepal.
Sabrina ChengDepartment of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Theresa P CastilloHealthRight International, New York, NY10003, USA.
Peter NavarioHealthRight International, New York, NY10003, USA.
Michelle BoydDepartment of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Keng-Yen HuangDepartment of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.

Funding

UBS Optimus Foundation 2016-2018
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChildren from migrant families with absent parents are more likely to have poorer physical and mental health than children from non-migrant families. The impact of labor migration on left-behind family members in South Asian countries is not well-known. This study aimed to examine the patterns of labor migration and its impact on the health and development of children and their caregivers in rural Nepal.

methodsBaseline family data collected from a school-based violence prevention program were utilized. Parents/caregivers (N = 346) with school-aged children (aged 3 to 15 years attending nursery to primary grades) from the rural Arghakhanchi district of Nepal were included in the study. A series of descriptive and chi-square analyses were carried out to explore the pattern of labor migration and differences between labor-migrant and non-labor-migrant families. Multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses were applied to explore the correlates and moderators involved.

resultsLabor migration has been a common practice in rural Nepal, with an estimated 49% of families having parents working overseas, mostly in India (57%) and Gulf countries (39%) on low-skill labor jobs. Labor migration was significantly associated with left-behind caregivers' and children's mental health. Left-behind caregivers in father-only labor-migrant families reported higher levels of depression than did parents in non-labor migrant families and left-behind children from labor-migrant families reported greater anger than did children from non-labor migrant families. The impact of labor migration on families was moderated by social class. For low social-class father migrant families, left-behind children were at greater risk for developmental delay and behavioral problems, but there seems to be a protective effect for high social-class father migrant families (with lower risk of developmental delay and problem behaviors compared to all other groups).

conclusionsLabor migration has a substantial impact on the mental health of left-behind families and children. The impact of labor migration may vary by living social-cultural context. Understanding the complex dynamics of labor migration has important implications for local and global migration-related health service planning.

Indexed as

CaregiversEmigration and ImmigrationRural PopulationTransients and MigrantsAdolescentAdultChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansMaleNepalChild developmentLabor migrationLeft-behind children and familyLMICsMental healthNepal

Identifiers

PMID41286803
PMCPMC12763903

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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.