Transnational lives and use of prescribed and traditional medicines

在过去几十年里，由于经济移民、难民和寻求庇护者，国际移徙大量增加。这种人口结构的转变给世界各地的医疗保健系统带来了重大问题，因为他们一直在努力了解跨国移民社区的健康实践、就医习惯和治疗偏好。解决这些关键问题对于解决许多移民社区在新的目的地国可能遇到的卫生不平等问题至关重要。在全球范围内，现在有越来越多的文献描述移民社区，特别是边缘化群体面临的健康差距。由于缺乏获得基本医疗的机会，边缘化的移徙人口健康状况较差的程度更高，包括身心健康方面的挑战。这些人群在获得医疗保健方面面临着一系列障碍，包括语言障碍和文化差异，这些障碍限制了他们获得医疗保健服务的能力。例如，与医疗保健提供者沟通时的语言问题可能导致误解和误诊。文化差异可能会阻碍获得医疗保健，因为某些文化信仰可能与西方医疗程序和药物相冲突。它们还可能导致从缺乏文化能力的提供者那里得到不适当或不合格的护理。此外，立法限制，例如由于移民身份而限制获得医疗保健，可能会阻止一些移民（例如，寻求庇护者、难民）得不到适当的照顾。由此产生的健康差距具有更广泛的社会影响，包括生产力下降、发病率和死亡率上升以及医疗保健费用增加。因此，解决这些问题并改善边缘化跨国移民社区的医疗保健服务至关重要。另一个值得探讨的问题是移民人口中跨国医疗多元化的存在和/或程度，以及如何获得正规医疗服务（即，NHS）和其他结构性挑战（例如，跨部门身份、种族主义、歧视）可能促使移徙者诉诸传统医药来科普和满足其健康需求。研究（例如，Krause，2008年）注意到移民中存在医疗多元化，以及跨国社交网络对移民应对身心健康挑战的持续影响。因此，需要对各种形式的治疗进行全面调查，同时考虑到文化影响，母国和英国之间的支持结构和网络的性质和强度，以及结构性限制。了解移民在寻求医疗保健时遇到的困难在英国至关重要，英国是世界上最大的移民人口之一。本研究旨在探讨移民的健康需求，他们的经验与医疗保健系统，组织和提供医疗保健服务，并在NHS的结构环境对利用医疗保健服务的移民人口的影响。该研究建议使用现象学的方法，以获得深入的跨国移民社区的经验和他们在英国寻求医疗保健的经验的观点。使用这些数据收集策略将使参与者能够自由地讨论他们的经验和想法。这种方法将有助于了解移民对医疗保健获取和使用的想法和态度、他们的疾病经历以及与药品、医疗保健系统的互动及其对传统药物的使用。

The past few decades have seen a large growth in international migration due to economic migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. This demographic transition presents significant problems to healthcare systems around the world, as they have painstakingly struggled to understand the health practices, healthcare-seeking habits, and treatment preferences of transnational migrant communities. Solutions to these key issues are critical to addressing the health inequities that many migrant communities may experience in their new countries of destination. Globally, a growing body of literature now exists describing the health disparities that face migrant communities, particularly marginalized groups. Due to a lack of access to basic medical treatment, marginalized migrant populations have greater levels of poor health outcomes, including physical and mental health challenges. These populations are confronted by a range of hurdles in accessing healthcare, including language barriers and cultural differences that limit their ability to receive healthcare services. For example, language problems while communicating with healthcare providers, can result in misunderstandings and misdiagnoses. Cultural differences may impede access to healthcare, since some cultural beliefs may conflict with Western medical procedures and medicines. They may also result in receipt of inappropriate or substandard care from providers who lack cultural competency. Furthermore, legislative constraints, such as limited access to healthcare due to migration status, can prevent some migrants (e.g., asylum seekers, refugees) from receiving appropriate care. Such resultant health disparities have broader societal ramifications, including decreased productivity, increased morbidity and mortality rates and greater healthcare expenses. Addressing these concerns and improving healthcare access for marginalized transnational migrant communities is therefore critical. Another issue that warrants exploration is the existence and/or extent of transnational medical pluralism among migrant populations, and how access to formal health services (i.e., NHS) and other structural challenges (e.g., intersectional identities, racism, discrimination) potentially push migrants to resort to traditional medicines to cope with, and satisfy their health needs. Research (e.g., Krause, 2008) notes the existence of medical pluralism among migrants, and continued influence of transnational social networks of support for migrants in regards to coping with physical and mental wellbeing challenges. The use of various forms of healing, therefore, needs to be investigated holistically, taking into consideration cultural influences, nature and strength of support structures and networks between home country and the UK, and structural constraints.Understanding difficulties that migrants experience while seeking healthcare is essential in the UK, which has one of the largest migrant populations in the world. This study seeks to examine migrants' health needs, their experiences with the healthcare system, the organization and delivery of healthcare services, and the impact of structural environments in the NHS on the utilization of health care services by migrant populations. The study proposes to use a phenomenological approach to obtain in-depth perspectives of the experiences of transnational migrant communities and their experiences seeking healthcare in the UK. Use of these data collection strategies will allow participants to freely discuss their experiences and thoughts. This approach will enable the understanding of migrants' ideas and attitudes toward healthcare access and use, their illness experiences, and interactions with pharmaceuticals, healthcare systems and their use of traditional medicines.