The impact of international migration on the health of brazilian women living in Australia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to give an account of the impact of international migration on the health of Brazilian women living in Melbourne, Australia. Based on a descriptive exploratory design, qualitative data was generated through participant observation, in-depth interviews and focus groups with 33 Brazilian women. Data analysis was done using QSR Nvivo. The main emerging themes were related to women's health problems, the lack of social support; and sociopolitical, sociocultural and socioeconomic barriers to access the healthcare services. The results of this study made evident that Brazilian women faced a diversified range of problems in the migration process to Australia. Such results proved to be consistent with those found in the literature.

Barriers Accessing Mental Health Services Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Immigrant Women in Australia: Policy Implications

“…Across many studies, participants voiced their difficulties in communicating with service providers due to lack of proficiency in English [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Fear of being judged, of not being understood, of losing their job, of being hospitalised and of community and family's reactions were major concerns [25].…”

“…The most commonly cited barriers included lack of information and knowledge on available healthcare [14, 19-21, 26, 27], financial barriers and lack of private health insurance [14,17,21,28]; difficulty with transport [17][18][19][20], lack of free or low cost childcare [13,18,29] lengthy waiting lists and delays in accessing specialists [14,26]. Additional reported concerns included fear of consequences for the family and repercussions from the ethnic enclave, concern about deportation, fear of losing children, ignorance of legal rights and entitlement under Australian laws [17,24,27,[29][30][31].…”

“…Participants viewed doctors as being ''inflexible and insensitive to their needs'' [14]. This barrier emerged from their ''need to be looked upon as a human being'' [14] especially in a moment of vulnerability and uncertainty when isolated from close family and community.…”

“…This barrier emerged from their ''need to be looked upon as a human being'' [14] especially in a moment of vulnerability and uncertainty when isolated from close family and community. Some women reported that the medical practitioners ''did not really hear what was being said'' and rushed through the consultation, [15] thus preventing the development of trust and rapport between doctor and patient.…”

“…Some Brazilian participants felt that medical practitioners in Australia lacked respect for alternative healthcare methods and popular health beliefs [14]. Although some mental health symptoms may be common across cultures, doctors need to be aware that explanatory models tend to be culture specific and embedded within the cultural assumptions and beliefs of the patient.…”