A desk review of Sri Lankan migrant worker deaths in 2009

A desk review and indirect standardisation techniques are used to describe the mortality risk for Sri Lankan migrant workers. Annonymised data were extracted from Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment case files recording deaths during 2009. Indirect standardisation is used to compare death rates taking into account age-sex distribution of the groups. As the actual age death distribution of the departures for 2009 was not available, estimates were derived using departure for 2007, 2008 and 2009. Out of 333 deaths reported in 2009, 328 were analysed. The mortality rates for males and females based on 2007, 2008 and 2009 estimates were consistent for all age groups. Females aged 25-29 years were at an increased risk of death relative to their counterparts in Sri Lanka. Although information from the country of death is inaccessible, data available locally can be analysed systematically to highlight pertinent migrant workers' issues.