[International Migration and Health: the Contribution of Migration Social Theories to Public Health Decisions]

Evidence demonstrates the high levels of vulnerability that surround the current migration phenomenon. These conditions are crucial to health systems worldwide, as they are directly linked to worsening health status and quality of life. However, the study of the connection between the migration process and health remains insufficient, especially with regard to how international migration influences public health decision-making. In the Latin American and Caribbean region, there are initiatives to provide health services to international migrants, but they are still far from guaranteeing the fundamental health rights of those who migrate. This article aims to develop a critical discussion of the main social theories on migration, and its contribution to public health decision-making (push-pull theory, globalization theory, causal accumulation theory, and transnationalism). An academic narrative review was carried out until April 2017, the results of which indicate that institutional, state, and local public health action is essential to guarantee the health rights of the migrant population in the face of the precarious situation surrounding the migration phenomenon. It is hoped that this document will be a contribution to current knowledge in Latin America, both for teaching and for practice and research in public health.