Gender, ‘race’, poverty, health and discourses of health reform in the context of globalization: a postcolonial feminist perspective in policy research

Abstract

Gender, 'race', poverty, health and discourses of health reform in the context of globalization: a postcolonial feminist perspective in policy research In this paper, I draw on extant literature and my empirical work to discuss the impact of globalization and healthcare reform on the lives of women -those from countries of the South as well as of the North. First, I review briefly the economic hardships identified in different sectors of the population that have been attributed to how globalization is now working. Second, I examine what these global processes mean for health, with particular focus on poverty, gender, racialization and health. Third, I reflect on how nurse scientists might develop research agendas in the 21st century that would foster social transformation and social justice for all people. The position taken here is not an indictment of globalization. Rather, I argue that globalization is a fact in all of our lives. There are positive aspects of globalization. There are also negative aspects which we must collectively address, given that the issues identified can have deleterious consequences for the world's poor, women in particular. I suggest that, to construct knowledge for practice and praxis, research agendas of the future should be inclusive of subaltern voices. I argue that drawing on a postcolonial feminist epistemology might help us to define such agendas, and express the multilayered sociopolitical contexts of health and illness in advocacy with policy-makers.

Transitions from Exile to Academia: Experiences and Identities of Refugee Women Teachers from the Former Yugoslavia

“…I employ critical narrative inquiry (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990, 1998, 1999Clandinin & Connelly, 2000), a postcolonial feminist research tradition (Alcoff , 1993;Anderson, 2000Anderson, , 2004Loomba, 2005;Khan et al, 2007), personal narrative (Ellis, 2004;Ellis et al, 2010), the 'storying stories' method (McCormack, 2000a(McCormack, , 2000b(McCormack, , 2004, and transcript poems (Richardson, 1992(Richardson, , 1994Glesne, 1997) to explore the ways in which social locations such as gender, race, class, ethnicity, culture, education, and refugee status shape refugee women teachers' identities in the Ontario context.…”

Clinical encounters in Canada's northern territories: implications for nurse practitioners working with aboriginal women to promote sexual health

“…Several scholars have noted the extent to which the experiences of Aboriginal women are subjected to the simultaneous forces of classism, racism, gender inequality, and oppression and how these forces influence the ways in which Aboriginal women experience the health care system (Anderson, 2000a;Anderson et al, 2003;Bourassa et al, 2004;Kubik et al, 2009;Reeves, 2008;Reimer Kirkham et al, 2007) As noted by Dion Stout (2005) well as the example of Mary's story, will be presented with the findings in this discussion chapter. A discussion of the impacts will be followed by implications for change.…”

“…Sexual health in general is influenced by issues of gender, race, and power (Anderson, 2000a;Anderson et al , 2003). Processes of sexism and racism contribute to Aboriginal women ' s poor health in that they operate via external power structures to impact how Aboriginal women negotiate health and health care.…”

“…This process of "othering" which places the "other" group as inferior began historically and continues to cumulatively and negatively impact the health status of Aboriginal women. Aboriginal women, as both Aboriginal and as women, suffer from multiple oppressions; the cumulative effects of these multiple oppressions have had devastating social and health consequences (Anderson, 2000a;Anderson et al , 2003;Kubik et al, 2009).…”

Understanding social determinants of healthcare access from the perspective of Hispanic Latino immigrants in Louisville, Ky.

“…Although these researchers and theorists relate postcolonial theory to health research (Anderson, 2000b(Anderson, , 2004Anderson & McCann, 2002;Blackford, 2003;Racine, 2003), only one study successfully operationalizes the theory by applying the postcolonial framework at various stages of the research process . Mohammed (2004) No studies could be found that operationalized postcolonial theory to examine the health experiences of HLI.…”