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Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic and related disruptive consequences in the economic, health, and educational sectors have impacted people’s lives, contributing to a context of increased economic and social vulnerability. The pandemic has revealed and accentuated social inequalities and discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin. This study aimed to contribute to the promotion of the mental health and well-being of migrant populations living in Portugal via the definition of an analytical framework and recommendations emerging from the EQUALS4COVID19 project. Methods To gather information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and resilience determinants among immigrants, a mixed-methods approach was implemented in 2022, combining a cross-sectional survey targeting immigrant adults in Portugal, focus groups with immigrants, focus groups with healthcare professionals, and in-depth individual interviews with stakeholders involved in the implementation of measures related to mental health and well-being during the pandemic. The analysis followed an integrated framework; quantitative data informed the script of qualitative data collection methods, and qualitative analysis informed the reinterpretation of quantitative data. Results The survey with 604 Brazilian and Cape Verdean immigrants revealed that gender (being a woman) was associated with both psychological distress and depression-related symptomatology and that the perception of discrimination was a major risk factor for psychological suffering, while perceived social support and individuals’ resilience characteristics were protective factors. Qualitative data provided deeper insights into these findings, revealing the ways mental health is affected by social structures, such as gender and ethnic hierarchies. Migrants tend to work in precarious jobs requiring physical presence, which, together with dense housing conditions, puts them at higher risk of infection. The deterioration of the economic conditions of the general population has also increased the perception of ethnic-racial discrimination, which was found to be related to the increase in insecurity and anxiety-related symptomatology among the migrant population. Newly arrived migrants, with reduced support networks, experienced a greater sense of insecurity as well as concern and anguish regarding relatives who live far away, in their home country. Migrant women reported greater family-related distress, including work-life balance problems. Conclusions Proposals to address mental health inequalities should be considered in the context of the necessary global changes both at the societal level and in the delivery of mental health services. Additionally, they should be considered with the active involvement of migrants, families, and communities in the design and delivery of mental health promotion and care processes.

Resumo A integração de emigrantes no mercado de trabalho tem efeitos na trajetória migratória da própria pessoa e na sua interação com a sociedade de acolhimento. É frequentemente trespassada por dificuldades de ajustamento do capital humano e das competências profissionais às necessidades do mercado de trabalho. A migração qualificada ilustra com particular acuidade a heterogeneidade destes processos. Com efeito, a empregabilidade da emigração qualificada não é uniforme. Alguns/mas emigrantes, embora com uma qualificação de nível superior, podem encontrar-se a desempenhar profissões não qualificadas - situação de sobre-qualificação. Com base em dois estudos sobre a emigração portuguesa, apuraram-se taxas de sobre-qualificação na ordem dos 18,1% e dos 16,9%. Identificaram-se consequências negativas desta sobre-qualificação: insatisfação com o trabalho e baixos salários. Identificaram-se também fatores associados a esta sobre-qualificação: a idade jovem, a formação em ciências sociais e humanas e a residência em países clássicos da emigração portuguesa com elevado peso de emigração pouco qualificada.

The employability of the Portuguese Roma, or Ciganos, is one of the major challenges that arises in contemporary Portuguese society, being transversal to other European countries, since a part of this population lack the necessary school and professional qualifications for their integration in the labour market. Employment and professional training centres can operate as institutional mediators between the Ciganos and the labour market. However, there are few studies about these public services and this article aims to fill this gap in terms of knowledge on this thematic. This paper is based on the analysis of the results derived from an online survey applied to employment centre directors and officers, aimed at unravelling the motives that justify, in their perspective, the low employability of Ciganos. Despise the results highlighted the greater emphasis on explanations of individual order and lesser reference to factors that are structural or focused on the employers. The contact with Cigano culture appears to be associated with a decrease of the importance of explanations of individual order and a higher weight of the explanations of structural order.

In Portugal, like in other European countries, the COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the risk of poverty and social exclusion faced by migrants. This study aimed to assess mental health and well-being, and their social determinants, among Brazilian and Cape Verdean immigrant populations two years after the COVID-19 pandemic while exploring the role of positive psychological factors such as resilience and perceived social support. We conducted a cross-sectional survey combining online and face-to-face questionnaires for data collection between February and November 2022 on dimensions of mental health considered potentially relevant to the post-pandemic context: psychological distress, anxiety, and depression. Overall, 604 immigrants were included (322 Brazilian and 282 Cape Verdean); 58.5% of those surveyed were women and 41.5% were men. The results revealed that gender (being a woman) was associated with both psychological distress and depression, higher education was associated with anxiety, and that, for the three mental health dimensions under analysis, the perception of discrimination and resilience were negative and positive predictors, respectively. Findings can inform the design and implementation of relevant public mental health promotion programs with a focus on equity targeted to the general population. Such programs would help to address the psychological and social impacts of this long-term, insidious global pandemic that has challenged governments, health care systems, health care professionals, individuals, families, and communities worldwide.

Research suggests that pressure to meet gender norms can limit social behaviors and ultimately promote poor health outcomes, such as disparities in decreased sexual pleasure, which are considered a central component of human rights and well-being. Previous studies have shown that sexual pleasure and sexual autonomy are gender-related, but little is known about these indicators in diverse populations. This study used data from a probabilistic sample of Cape Verdean immigrant (n = 127) and Portuguese native (n = 133) women and men who were in an intimate relationship enrolled in the FEMINA (Fertility, Migration and Acculturation) project to explore intersectional variations in sexual pleasure, sexual satisfaction, and distress considering their interplay with sexual autonomy and social representations regarding sexuality. For all participants and especially among men, sex is a very important part of life. Sexual autonomy was positively associated with sexual pleasure among Cape Verdean and Portuguese women and Portuguese men. Sexual distress was negatively associated with sexual pleasure among women, especially Cape Verdean women who reported higher sexual distress. This small-scale study is an example of an intersectional approach to sexual health and rights.

The increasing number of international migrants (ranging from 153 million in 1990 to ~272 million in 2019) brought to attention the wide variation of national contexts concerning the policy measures to protect migrants' rights and ensuring their equal access to basic and essential services, namely in health. Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) is a key component to the overall health and quality of life and is impacted by power inequities inherent to society's institutions, environment, economics, and culture. In Portugal, guidelines for intervention in SRH are insufficient, a gap that is more pronounced with migrant populations due to the absence of culturally sensitive indicators to assess and monitor SRH. The aim of this work was 2-fold: to identify good practices in the SRH field, with a particular focus, whenever possible, on migrant populations, and to identify relevant and inclusive indicators to monitor SRH in Portugal. A Delphi panel (via online survey) with 66 experts (researchers, teachers, and health professionals) and 16 stakeholders (non-governmental organizations, civil society, and governmental organizations) was implemented in two rounds. Panelists were asked to state their level of agreement (5-point Likert-type scale) regarding four different SRH areas: Sexual Health, Reproductive Health, Social-Structural Factors, and Good Practices. Items were based on literature review and a World Café with 15 experts and stakeholders. Participation rate was 68% and response rate was 97% on the first round. From the initial list of 142 items, a total of 118 (83%) items were approved by consensus. Findings may provide extended opportunities for the healthcare system to engage in better informed decisions and more inclusive and integrative strategies regarding SRH, contributing to build political measures toward sexual and reproductive justice.

Com o objetivo de esboçar um retrato nacional sobre as pessoas ciganas em Portugal foi elaborado um estudo que conciliou uma abordagem metodológica qualitativa e quantitativa (análise documental; entrevistas em profundidade; método Delphi; inquéritos por questionário a autarquias locais, a pessoas ciganas e a especialistas, tais como investigadores, mediadores e técnicos de intervenção social). Este artigo visa apresentar os principais resultados de um inquérito por questionário a pessoas ciganas e discutir as continuidades e diferenciações sociais entre os ciganos através da análise multivariada e utilização do método de Delphi, tendo sido possível definir alguns perfis sociais, de acordo com a idade, escolaridade e ocupação dos inquiridos, que nos levam a questionar o uso acrítico da categoria “Ciganos” que tem efeitos homogeneizadores e essencialistas.

The presence of Cigano/Roma students in secondary education in Portugal is still a rarity, considering that less than 3% of young Ciganos/Roma attend secondary education. This article aims to highlight the need for a comprehensive understanding of the perceptions of school teachers and principals on educational (under)achievement, absenteeism and school integration of Cigano students. To this end, we analyse data from an online questionnaire survey of a sample of 819 teachers, school principals and deputy principals and other senior management staff in schools of the Metropolitan Areas. These respondents express persistent representations and stereotypes in relation to the educational trajectories of Cigano students, especially in assigning prime causes of school failure to factors relating to the students' family or own intrinsic issues, rarely indicating institutional factors or those linked to their teaching practices. Although this is a study centred on Portugal, the lessons drawn from it can point to new directions for other contexts, as the educational achievement of Cigano students represents an opportunity and an invitation to transform and upgrade school institutions as well as the educational system as a whole, which should be more innovative, reflexive and increasingly open to the community.