Human rights approach in the response to health and migration in Chile: documentary review

Objective. To analyse the recognition of the health rights of migrants in Chile in the health regulatory framework. Materials and methods. A sequential mixed methodology study. The qualitative phase included a documentary analysis of 37 instruments published up to the year 2021, on health actions aimed at the migrant population.Through content analysis, specific elements of the rights-based approach were identified. The quantitative phase included a descriptive analysis of hospital discharges, health insurance and health problems in the last three months. Data were obtained from publicly available databases. Results. Chile has progressively developed the implementation of the right to health for migrants. In turn, there is a reduction of gaps in the three indicators: no health insurance (15.8% 2017 vs. 10.9% 2020), hospital admissions without health insurance (25.5% 2014 vs. 6.6% 2020) and not having received medical care for a perceived health problem in the last three months (11.8% 2015 vs. 8.6% 2020). Conclusion. Although Chile is an example of progressive advance in the implementation of the right to health for migrants, there are still pending elements in terms of effective inclusion.