Hierarchy Of Health In Farm Workers In The US
The paper, by Seth M. Holmes from UCSF, reports findings gathered over 15 months as the author traveled with a group of indigenous Triqui Mexican farm workers as they moved between Mexico and the Western USA. Using qualitative research methods, the author observed and interviewed migrant workers and health care professionals.
He found that farm working and housing conditions are organized according to ethnicity and immigration status, and that the hierarchy that develops determines health disparities, with undocumented indigenous Mexicans having the worst health. In Holmes' interviews with all the participants it became clear that the hierarchy has become accepted and that each group is somehow understood to "deserve its place in the hierarchy". He found that structural inequalities and subtle forms of racism cause health professionals to be less aware of these social determinants of suffering and often lead them to blame their migrant patients for their sicknesses.
The author calls the relationship between US society and migrant workers a "dishonest" one that must be acknowledged and changed and while recognizing that "medical education must be broadened to reflect the multifaceted etiology of disease", concludes that "Medical professionals have the calling and the authority to work toward this change."
Citation: Holmes SM (2006) An ethnographic study of the social context of migrant health in the United States. PLoS Med 3(10): e448.
PLEASE ADD THE LINK TO THE PUBLISHED ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030448
CONTACT:
Dr. Seth M. Holmes
UCSF School of Medicine
323 Lincoln Way
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Article adapted by Start Sanatate from original press release.
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Social medicine in the 21st century
Contact: Andrew Hyde
Public Library of Science
Ierarhie de sãnãtate în Farm lucrãtorilor în SUA - Hierarchy Of Health In Farm Workers In The US - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate