Cristina Margalejo (p), Cristina Sarasa, Rosa Duarte

Deniz Sevinc

Sustainable rural development faces the lack of job opportunities and the lack of facilities that can potentially fix the population to the territory, what can be accentuated for women depopulation.

This study aims to advance in the identification of the main socioeconomic factors of rural women exodus in the rural Aragón (a northern Spanish region). The objective is to better understand the main patterns and causes for why women abandon rural areas and migrate to urban cities. These findings could be a reference in the design of strategies to promote women rural development and also to reduce rural women exodus, in order to strengthen their social position in rural areas through the improvement of their living conditions and the reduction of gender inequalities that still persist. Using a sample of 627 women, we apply a multinomial logit model to assess diverse factors affecting rural women exodus. As a groundbreaking contribution, we evaluate whether women's personal assessment of intangible aspects inherent to the territory such as landscape, gastronomy or liveliness in the area, among others, have an impact on their decision to remain in the area. We also include variables that measure women time use as potential explanatory factors of female rural exodus.

Results highlight the importance of mobility and its problems in rural areas, pointing out that the availability and use of vehicles is a relevant factor for settling in rural areas. In the same way, the incorporation of social capital variables has proven to be successful in explaining the female exodus, underlining the high explanatory power of the degree of penetration of women in participatory and decision-making bodies. The degree of development of public services available in each municipality is also a key factor in the decision to migrate. Economic level also affects decision making process, with women with lower incomes being more likely to remain in the municipality. In terms of territorial factors, municipalities with between 2,000 and 5,000 inhabitants are those with the lowest female exodus, as this allows them to combine work opportunities in a nearby area with an attractive range of services and activities, allows them a future in the territory.

Beatriz Morais (p), Rae Halliday, Anna Deal, Oumnia Bouaddi, essica Carter, Felicity Knights, Sally E Hayward, Sally Hargreaves

Cristina Margalejo

Background
Migrant populations in Europe are at increased risk of under-immunisation and therefore likely to be at high risk of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD), yet the relationship between migration and VPD incidence is not fully understood. This study aimed to explore prevalence of VPDs in migrant populations in Europe and to define at-risk groups.
Methods
Following PRISMA guidelines, Embase, MEDLINE and Global Health were searched for peer-reviewed papers published from 1st January 2010. Inclusion criteria comprised primary research on VPD cases (measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus) among migrants to/within the EU/EEA and Switzerland. We defined migrants as foreign-born nationals.
Findings
Forty-seven eligible studies from 15 EU/EEA countries and Switzerland were included, with a total of 1357 migrant VPD cases reported. Analysis revealed 1357 migrant cases across measles (28 publications; 926 cases), pertussis (9; 267 cases), mumps (9; 107 cases), diphtheria (11; 67 cases), rubella (2; 6 cases), tetanus (2; 2 cases). Over-representation of measles cases was observed among migrant children and adolescents, predominantly from the WHO Europe region. Migrants of East African origin were over-represented among diphtheria cases.
Interpretation
This study underscores the association between migration and VPD cases in EU/EEA and Switzerland, establishing a clear association between European migrant children and adolescents in measles outbreaks, and adult migrants from East Africa in diphtheria cases. This study suggests strengthening systems for targeted catch-up vaccination for migrants is imperative upon arrival in European countries to align them with national schedules, alongside the need to improve data collection and surveillance systems to inform effective public health interventions.
Main messages:
1. Migrant populations in Europe face heightened risk of vaccine-preventable diseases and need to be better incorporated into catch-up vaccination initiatives on arrival.
2. Improved data collection and surveillance systems are crucial for informing effective public health interventions targeting migrant populations.

Zuzana Stuchlikova, Cristina Prochazkova Ilinitchi (p)

Beatriz Morais

The Czech Republic has undergone a sustained period of consistently low unemployment rates (less than 3% after 2017) and labour force shortages, even in the face of concurrent and protracted economic downturns (2020, 2022-23). Since 2017, the Czech unemployment rate has been one of the lowest in the European Union. The Czech Republic also recorded one of the highest increases in the share of the population aged 65 years or over in the European Union between 2012 and 2022; today (2022) this share is higher than 20% of the total population. Similarly to other developed countries, the fast ageing of the Czech population is likely to be of major significance in the coming decades. It is going to put a strong downward pressure on the aggregate labour supply. This paper/presentation aims to identify the main factors contributing to the low unemployment rate after 2017 and to the expected decline in labour supply in the Czech Republic, with a particular emphasis on the country’s demographic parameters and developments. Additionally, the paper aims to evaluate whether immigration policies and post-COVID migration flows have the potential to alleviate pressure on the labour market, considering the context of the relatively strict immigration policy towards third-country nationals.

Deniz Sevinc (p)

Cristina Procházková Ilinitchi

We explore the relationship between foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) in Hong Kong and women’s labour force participation (LFP). First, we explore to what extent social and family changes have influenced the employment status of women in Hong Kong. Second, we investigate the implications of the availability of full-time FDHs on women's labour supply. Third, we find that FDHs facilitate female LFP to undertake low-skilled white-collar or high skilled blue-collar occupations. Global care chains and a regime of labour intimacy subsidise childcare in Hong Kong, but by exploiting FDHs and their families.