*2.1. Definition of Terms*

This study focuses on low-skill, low-wage migrant workers who cross international borders for employment. Documented or "regular" migrants are authorised to enter, stay, and partake in employment in a country, and also have legal documents, such as valid passports and work permits. Undocumented or "irregular" migrants are those who enter the country, reside, or partake in employment without authorisation, including those who may have entered the country legally, but have violated either the terms of their visa or over-stayed beyond the authorised period [9–11].

Refugees, asylum-seekers, foreign wives, and expatriates are not included in this study.

#### *2.2. Sampling and Recruitment*

We conducted 37 in-depth interviews with 44 individuals from July 2018 to July 2019 in Malaysia (Table 1). Most interviews were conducted on a one-on-one basis, while several were conducted in small groups of 2 to 3 participants from the same organisation.


**Table 1.** Characteristics of the study participants (*n* = 44).

<sup>1</sup> Only 1 of the 4 migrant workers interviewed identified himself as a worker only. Others were also members of civil society organisations (2) or trade unions (1). <sup>2</sup> Government or government-linked organisation.

The health and welfare of migrant workers in Malaysia are contentious, with issues concerning migrant workers' SRHR and their immigration status being particularly sensitive. As such, we did not specifically target female migrant workers for interviews. We interviewed multiple stakeholders, including members of civil society organisations (CSOs), international organisations, academia, industry, medical doctors, and migrant representatives to obtain a broader understanding of SRHR for this vulnerable population.

Migrant representatives interviewed represented the interests of migrant workers and were able to speak broadly on migrant workers' experiences in Malaysia. We interviewed representatives of workers from major migrant-sending countries to Malaysia (Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal, and Bangladesh). We also interviewed medical doctors from the public sector, private sector, and CSOs, who provided SRH services to migrant populations. In addition, we interviewed representatives of CSOs that primarily worked on migrant women's rights and welfare.

Participants were recruited purposively from a previous migrant health stakeholder workshop in Kuala Lumpur [25], and subsequently from snowball sampling of interviewees and further stakeholder recruitment through LinkedIn, until researchers agreed that new interviews would not yield additional information, as thematic saturation was reached.

#### *2.3. Data Collection and Analysis*

In-depth interviews averaged from 1 to 1.5 h and were conducted at physical locations chosen by participants or via telephone. Interviews were conducted either in English or Bahasa Malaysia (Malay language) depending on the participants' preference, by the multi-lingual research team. The majority of interviews were conducted in English, with only 5 out of 37 interviews conducted in Malay.

Semi-structured interview guides were developed to seek participants' perspectives on SRH health services for migrant women in Malaysia, and these questions were tailored towards the participants' professional and organisational backgrounds. The interview guides were constructed based on literature review and discussion among the research team. Concurrent data analysis informed data collection and further refinement of question guides. Interviews with stakeholders from different backgrounds allowed triangulation of findings. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim.

We conducted thematic analysis as described by Braun and Clarke, where themes or patterns of meaning within data were identified and reported using six phases: becoming familiar with the data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining themes, and producing the report [26].

Data analysis was conducted in an immersive, exploratory, and inductive manner. The first and second authors reviewed and analysed transcripts independently, with regular discussions between researchers to refine codes and identify new themes. Transcripts were coded into emerging themes using NViVo 12 Plus, (QSR International, Melbourne, Australia) and quotations were extracted into Microsoft® Excel® for Office 365, (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA). Interviews in Bahasa Malaysia were analysed in the same language, while extracted quotations were translated to English for publication.
