Browsing by Autor "Arturo Harker"

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312 The impact of regularization policies on health access: examining female Venezuelan migrants access and utilization of healthcare services in Colombia
(Oxford University Press, 2025) Arturo Harker
Abstract OP 5: Health Policy 1, B308 (FCSH), September 3, 2025, 14:30 - 15:30 Aim: The Venezuelan humanitarian crisis has led to the displacement of over 7.7 million migrants, with Colombia hosting around one-third. While Colombia has been praised for its progressive policies for Venezuelan migrant integration since 2017, the government’s Estatuto Temporal de Protección para Migrantes Venezolanos (ETPMV), introduced in February 2021, provides one of the region’s most comprehensive regularization policies, permitting 10 years of residency and access to public services, including health insurance. We assessed the impact of the ETPMV on self-reported health insurance enrollment and formal healthcare utilization Methods: We use as primary data source two telephone surveys with 4,423 female Venezuelan migrants in 2020 and 2023. We used difference-in-differences methodology, accounting for differences in levels of migrant health system integration across municipalities measured by a municipal enrollment index derived from secondary data. Results: We find that the ETPMV significantly increases health insurance enrollment for female Venezuelan migrants and that while uninsured individuals experience a significant decline in healthcare utilization from 2020-2023, insured individuals experience no significant change. Additionally, the effect of insurance varies by municipal enrollment index, with greater impacts of insurance in areas with lower levels of regularization and health insurance enrollment. Conclusions: These results highlight the success of ETPMV in enhancing access to healthcare for Venezuelan migrants, with insurance enrollment providing a protective effect against declines in healthcare utilization compared to uninsured individuals. These findings underscore the importance of comprehensive regularization policies to address the health needs of migrant populations in Colombia and other similar settings, although continued progress in migrant integration is needed.
313 Legal status for Venezuelan migrants in Colombia: progress toward better access to health services examined through aggregate administrative data
(Oxford University Press, 2025) Arturo Harker
Abstract OP 6: Health Policy 2, B308 (FCSH), September 3, 2025, 15:45 - 16:45 Aims Venezuelans represent one of the largest populations of displaced persons globally. In 2024, Colombia hosted 2.9 million Venezuelan migrants. In 2021, Colombia made one of the world’s important humanitarian steps. It issued a decree called “Estatuto Temporal de Protección para Migrantes Venezolanos” (ETPMV), expanding a path for Venezuelans then in Colombia to initiate registering for legal protected status. That status would allow migrants to work officially and access public services, including affiliating with a health insurer. This study evaluates how insurance affiliation and rates of utilization of health services among female Venezuelan migrants aged 0-44 years (a vulnerable population) vary by year before and after the ETPMV. Methods This study performs time-series and cross-sectional analyses of aggregate administrative data to assess how insurance affiliation and rates of utilization of health services. Additionally, we compare the affiliation and insurance claims tabulations of Colombians versus Venezuelans and males versus females before and after the ETPMV. Results Our findings show that health insurance affiliation rates among Venezuelan migrants have increased since the implementation of ETPMV, reaching 42% in females and 39% in males by 2023. Affiliated female migrants utilized formal services at seven times the rate of their unaffiliated counterparts. However, the absolute rates of health services used by female insured migrants aged 15-44 declined nine-fold from 2019 to 2023, falling from 2.212 to 0.244 services per insured women per year. Conlusions Although more progress is needed toward health equity, these findings suggest that the ETPMV has been a useful step towards integrating Venezuelans into Colombia’s social service system.
Beyond shelter: Exploring the potential impacts of rental assistance on self-reliance and well-being for Venezuelan migrants in Colombia
(Cambridge University Press, 2025) Lindsay Stark; Franco Joseph; Arturo Harker; Neema Mosha; Deanna M. Barch; Ned Meerdink; Ilana Seff
Urban refugees in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) often face housing insecurity, undermining their ability to achieve self-reliance and well-being. Few studies have evaluated the impact of housing interventions in these contexts. This study offers preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of a 9-month rental assistance program targeting female-headed Venezuelan migrant households in Colombia. Using pre-post data from 517 participants, we assessed changes over time in household-level self-reliance, domains of self-reliance, subjective well-being and perceived agency. We also employed ordinary least squares regression and fixed-effects models to estimate changes in self-reliance and the relationship between self-reliance, psychosocial and housing outcomes. Our analysis found significant improvements in overall self-reliance, well-being and agency after controlling for observed individual and household characteristics. Increases were observed across almost all domains of self-reliance. Fixed-effects models also found that subjective well-being, perceived agency and select housing conditions were positively associated with self-reliance. Rental support appears to promote both material and psychosocial recovery for displaced households by alleviating financial stress and enabling forward-looking behaviors. However, the impact of housing quality dimensions varies, and the sustainability of outcomes remains uncertain. Future evaluations should incorporate longitudinal designs and control groups to inform holistic refugee housing strategies.
Building Dreams: The Impact of a Conditional Cash Transfer Program on Educational Aspirations in Colombia
(RELX Group (Netherlands), 2017) Sandra García; Arturo Harker; Jorge Cuartas
Building Dreams: The Short-Term Impacts of a Conditional Cash Transfer Program on Aspirations to Attain Higher Education
(2018) Arturo Harker
Effects of homicide timing on test scores: Quasi-experimental evidence from two cities in Colombia
(Wiley, 2023) Juan C. Cristancho; Drew H. Bailey; Greg J. Duncan; Andrés Molano; Arturo Harker; Ervyn Norza Céspedes
This study examines the effect of homicides around schools on the standardized test scores of fifth and ninth graders (N = 4729; Mage = 12.71 years, SDage = 2.13) using a quasi-experimental design in two Colombian cities. Exposure to homicides occurring within 7 days of the test and within 500 m of the school decreases test scores by 0.10 SD. Effects show a greater sensitivity to timing than distance, becoming null as the time to the testing date increases but remaining consistent across larger radii. Since students in the study are on average exposed to 12.1 homicides per year, even short-lived learning losses can accumulate to impair learning for substantial portions of the school year. Findings are discussed, considering previous empirical work.
Integration Through Health During Protracted Displacement: Case Studies From Colombia and Jordan
(SAGE Publishing, 2023) Katherine McCann; Fouad M. Fouad; Arturo Harker; Monette Zard
As the global rate of displacement reaches new highs and the average length of displacement extends from years to decades, integration is an increasingly crucial lifeline for refugees and displaced communities seeking to rebuild their lives. Health systems serve as an ideal conduit for integration due to universal need, system complexity, and the interplay of political, social, and economic factors on health outcomes. Using lessons learned from case studies in Colombia and Jordan, this paper will explore different strategies for integration of refugee health services with host population health systems. It will highlight successful policy implementation and innovative approaches as well as predict potential barriers to success via a population-centered approach that emphasizes the importance of supporting host communities concurrently with displaced populations. It offers the following findings and recommendations for governmental and humanitarian actors. Effective integration requires a “whole of person” approach which acknowledges and responds to the linkages between legal status, economic needs, and mental and physical health and wellbeing. Addressing the health needs of populations experiencing protracted displacement must go hand-in-hand with, and cannot be decoupled from, addressing the needs of host communities. Demographic and epidemiologic data inclusive of both host and displaced populations enables governments and service providers to better plan for and respond to key health and non-health needs. Donors and financing structures can play a critical role in facilitating greater integration of health and other services.
Parenting, Scarcity and Violence: Theory and Evidence for Colombia
(RELX Group (Netherlands), 2016) Jorge Cuartas; Arturo Harker
The Impact of Regularization Policies on Health Access: Examining Female Venezuelan Migrants’ Access and Utilization of Healthcare Services in Colombia
(Taylor & Francis, 2025) Diana Bowser; Priya Agarwal‐Harding; Brielle Ruscitti; Donald S. Shepard; Arturo Harker
The Venezuelan humanitarian crisis has led to the displacement of over 7.7 million migrants, with Colombia hosting around one-third. Colombia has been praised for its progressive policies for Venezuelan migrant integration, and the government's Estatuto Temporal de Protección para Migrantes Venezolanos (ETPMV), introduced in February 2021, provides one of the region's most comprehensive regularization policies, permitting 10 years of residency and access to social protection services, including health insurance. We assessed the impact of the ETPMV on self-reported health insurance enrollment and formal healthcare utilization using two telephone surveys with 4,423 female Venezuelan migrants in 2020 and 2023. We used a difference-in-differences methodological approach, accounting for differences in levels of migrant health system integration across municipalities measured by a municipal enrollment index derived from secondary data. We find that the ETPMV significantly increases health insurance enrollment for female Venezuelan migrants and that while uninsured individuals experience a significant decline in healthcare utilization from 2020 to 2023, insured individuals experience no significant change. Additionally, the effect of insurance varies by municipal enrollment index, with greater impacts of insurance in areas with lower levels of regularization and health insurance enrollment. These results highlight the success of ETPMV in enhancing access to healthcare for Venezuelan migrants, with insurance enrollment providing a protective effect against declines in healthcare utilization compared to uninsured individuals. These findings underscore the importance of comprehensive regularization policies to address migrant health needs, while emphasizing the importance of continued efforts toward integration.
Validación del Índice del Derecho a la Educación (IDE) para Colombia, empleando la metodología Delphi
(2018) Hernando Bayona-Rodríguez; Arturo Harker; Camilo Ernesto López Guarín
El presente documento expone los resultados de la validación del Índice del Derecho a la Educación (IDE) para Colombia. El IDE está compuesto por cuatro dimensiones: Disponibilidad, Accesibilidad, Adaptabilidad y Acepta-bilidad. La validación tiene como objetivo establecer qué indicadores dan cuenta de cada dimensión. Para llegar a un consenso se usó la metodología Delphi, implementada en un aplicativo Web. Este proceso contó con la participación de 158 expertos del sector educativo, quienes, en dos rondas, clasificaron cada uno de los 12 indicadores analizados en una de las cuatro dimensiones.