89 Feasibility of adhering to COVID-19 preventive measures: a longitudinal comparison study between migrants and non-migrants in Norway

Abstract OP 11: Determinants of Health Disease and Interventions 3, B207 (FCSH), September 3, 2025, 17:00 - 18:00 Aims: During the COVID-19 pandemic, adhering to COVID-19 preventive measures was especially challenging for some migrant groups due to factors such as language barriers, discrimination, living and working conditions. This may, in turn, contribute to their overrepresentation in COVID-19 statistics. This study aims to compare the perceived feasibility of adhering to COVID-19 measures between migrants and non-migrants in Norway, identifying differences and time trends. Methods: We analyzed data from three data points (April-2020, January-2021, March-2022) for 25,423 participants of the Bergen in Change study. In our sample, 511 (2%) were migrants from Asia, Africa, or Latin America (AAA), and 1,257 (5%) migrants from other regions. Participants were asked to what extent they found it feasible of adhering to preventive measures. Answers were classified into effectively adhering to measures or having difficulties adhering to measures. Analyses included descriptive statistics and multivariable regression presented with adjusted relative risk ratios (aRR) with 95% confidence intervals. Results: Across all time points, both migrant groups reported lower feasibility in adhering to COVID-19 measures compared to non-migrants. At baseline, migrants from AAA reported a 14% lower feasibility of effectively adhering to measures (aRR 0.86 [0.81; 0.92]) compared to non-migrants, while migrants from other regions showed 9% lower feasibility (aRR 0.91, [0.87; 0.94]). Over time, all participants found it more difficult to adhere to measures, with a 4% decrease in feasibility from 2020 to 2021 and 11% decrease from 2020 to 2022. These changes were similar among migrants and non-migrants, with no statistically significant differences due to the migration group. Conclusions: Migrants reported lower feasibility of adhering to COVID-19 measures compared to non-migrants throughout the study. Adherence became more difficult over time, but changes were similar for migrants and non-migrants. These findings provide insights into health disparities and the unique challenges faced by certain migrant groups.