Migrant Voices : A Web-Based Respondent-Driven Sampling Approach for the Study of Health and Health Care Use Among Newly Arrived Migrants in Belgium

Research on health inequalities and migration has expanded in recent decades, with most studies comparing migrant and non-migrant populations. While valuable, these studies often fail to capture differences within migrant groups or to explore how other social dimensions of health may play a different role among migrant groups. A major challenge is the lack of health data on people with a migration background, particularly the newly arrived. Migrants are underrepresented in health surveys due to language barriers, legal status, and mistrust of institutions, while administrative data, such as health insurance records, often lack detailed information on migrant backgrounds, especially for undocumented and newly arrived migrants. Web-based Respondent-driven sampling (WEB-RDS) is a promising method for reaching migrant populations. It is a peer chain-recruitment method for populations without a sampling frame or that are hard-to-reach. This formative study evaluates the acceptability and feasibility of a WEB-RDS for newly arrived migrants from various countries of birth in Belgium. Focus groups with representatives of different migrant groups will assess the assumptions of a WEB-RDS by delving into social network properties of the target population and exploring how to adapt the WEB-RDS to specific migrant groups (in terms of type of incentive system, network size question, seeds recruitment, coupon system, etc.). First analyses of the WEB-RDS data will be conducted, using Census data from Statbel as an external benchmark. We look forward to presenting and discussing these findings at the ISA conference.