This research used tuberculosis (TB) as a lens to elucidate how migration, settlement, local agency and support networks influence migrants’ health in New Zealand. The study also examined specific characteristics of TB such as delays in diagnosis and the stigma attached to the disease to gain a broader understanding of TB experience for migrants in New Zealand. The research addressed these aims through the analytical framework of political ecology and incorporation of interviews, participant observation and media analysis. Participants in the research included immigrants from Mainland China, South Korea, and India, and New Zealand health care professionals. The study found that immigration policies, social discrimination and isolation have created structural inequalities between dominant host populations and Asian migrants in New Zealand. These inequalities compounded settlement problems such as language difficulties and limited employment opportunities, resulting in low income levels and perceived stress for Indian, Korean and Chinese people, which has affected their health and well being. Transnational policies and experiences of health care systems in immigrants’ countries of origin and in New Zealand strongly influenced health seeking behaviour of migrants, along with structural barriers such as lack of Asian health care professionals and interpreting services. Local cultural and biological factors including health cultures and physical symptoms also affected these practices. In relation to TB, structural processes along with clinic doctor-patient relationships and social stigmas created barriers to diagnosis and treatment. Factors that facilitated access to health care in general, and TB diagnosis and treatment in particular, included the use of support networks, particularly local General Practitioners from countries of origin, and Public Health Nurses, along with flexible TB treatment programmes. This study shows that the incidence and experience of TB is shaped by migration and settlement processes. It also builds upon other medical anthropological studies that have employed political ecology by demonstrating its usefulness in application to developed as well as developing countries. In addition, the study contributes to the growing area of Asian migration research in New Zealand, illustrating that migration and settlement processes are complex and need to be understood as multidimensional, thus demonstrating advantages in approaching them from a political ecological framework. / Human Research Council, University of Auckland

This research used tuberculosis (TB) as a lens to elucidate how migration, settlement, local agency and support networks influence migrants’ health in New Zealand. The study also examined specific characteristics of TB such as delays in diagnosis and the stigma attached to the disease to gain a broader understanding of TB experience for migrants in New Zealand. The research addressed these aims through the analytical framework of political ecology and incorporation of interviews, participant observation and media analysis. Participants in the research included immigrants from Mainland China, South Korea, and India, and New Zealand health care professionals. The study found that immigration policies, social discrimination and isolation have created structural inequalities between dominant host populations and Asian migrants in New Zealand. These inequalities compounded settlement problems such as language difficulties and limited employment opportunities, resulting in low income levels and perceived stress for Indian, Korean and Chinese people, which has affected their health and well being. Transnational policies and experiences of health care systems in immigrants’ countries of origin and in New Zealand strongly influenced health seeking behaviour of migrants, along with structural barriers such as lack of Asian health care professionals and interpreting services. Local cultural and biological factors including health cultures and physical symptoms also affected these practices. In relation to TB, structural processes along with clinic doctor-patient relationships and social stigmas created barriers to diagnosis and treatment. Factors that facilitated access to health care in general, and TB diagnosis and treatment in particular, included the use of support networks, particularly local General Practitioners from countries of origin, and Public Health Nurses, along with flexible TB treatment programmes. This study shows that the incidence and experience of TB is shaped by migration and settlement processes. It also builds upon other medical anthropological studies that have employed political ecology by demonstrating its usefulness in application to developed as well as developing countries. In addition, the study contributes to the growing area of Asian migration research in New Zealand, illustrating that migration and settlement processes are complex and need to be understood as multidimensional, thus demonstrating advantages in approaching them from a political ecological framework. / Human Research Council, University of Auckland

This research used tuberculosis (TB) as a lens to elucidate how migration, settlement, local agency and support networks influence migrants’ health in New Zealand. The study also examined specific characteristics of TB such as delays in diagnosis and the stigma attached to the disease to gain a broader understanding of TB experience for migrants in New Zealand. The research addressed these aims through the analytical framework of political ecology and incorporation of interviews, participant observation and media analysis. Participants in the research included immigrants from Mainland China, South Korea, and India, and New Zealand health care professionals. The study found that immigration policies, social discrimination and isolation have created structural inequalities between dominant host populations and Asian migrants in New Zealand. These inequalities compounded settlement problems such as language difficulties and limited employment opportunities, resulting in low income levels and perceived stress for Indian, Korean and Chinese people, which has affected their health and well being. Transnational policies and experiences of health care systems in immigrants’ countries of origin and in New Zealand strongly influenced health seeking behaviour of migrants, along with structural barriers such as lack of Asian health care professionals and interpreting services. Local cultural and biological factors including health cultures and physical symptoms also affected these practices. In relation to TB, structural processes along with clinic doctor-patient relationships and social stigmas created barriers to diagnosis and treatment. Factors that facilitated access to health care in general, and TB diagnosis and treatment in particular, included the use of support networks, particularly local General Practitioners from countries of origin, and Public Health Nurses, along with flexible TB treatment programmes. This study shows that the incidence and experience of TB is shaped by migration and settlement processes. It also builds upon other medical anthropological studies that have employed political ecology by demonstrating its usefulness in application to developed as well as developing countries. In addition, the study contributes to the growing area of Asian migration research in New Zealand, illustrating that migration and settlement processes are complex and need to be understood as multidimensional, thus demonstrating advantages in approaching them from a political ecological framework. / Human Research Council, University of Auckland

This research used tuberculosis (TB) as a lens to elucidate how migration, settlement, local agency and support networks influence migrants’ health in New Zealand. The study also examined specific characteristics of TB such as delays in diagnosis and the stigma attached to the disease to gain a broader understanding of TB experience for migrants in New Zealand. The research addressed these aims through the analytical framework of political ecology and incorporation of interviews, participant observation and media analysis. Participants in the research included immigrants from Mainland China, South Korea, and India, and New Zealand health care professionals. The study found that immigration policies, social discrimination and isolation have created structural inequalities between dominant host populations and Asian migrants in New Zealand. These inequalities compounded settlement problems such as language difficulties and limited employment opportunities, resulting in low income levels and perceived stress for Indian, Korean and Chinese people, which has affected their health and well being. Transnational policies and experiences of health care systems in immigrants’ countries of origin and in New Zealand strongly influenced health seeking behaviour of migrants, along with structural barriers such as lack of Asian health care professionals and interpreting services. Local cultural and biological factors including health cultures and physical symptoms also affected these practices. In relation to TB, structural processes along with clinic doctor-patient relationships and social stigmas created barriers to diagnosis and treatment. Factors that facilitated access to health care in general, and TB diagnosis and treatment in particular, included the use of support networks, particularly local General Practitioners from countries of origin, and Public Health Nurses, along with flexible TB treatment programmes. This study shows that the incidence and experience of TB is shaped by migration and settlement processes. It also builds upon other medical anthropological studies that have employed political ecology by demonstrating its usefulness in application to developed as well as developing countries. In addition, the study contributes to the growing area of Asian migration research in New Zealand, illustrating that migration and settlement processes are complex and need to be understood as multidimensional, thus demonstrating advantages in approaching them from a political ecological framework. / Human Research Council, University of Auckland

The Latino immigrant population in the United States has grown rapidly, now standing at over 56 million people. Due to this increase in Latino immigrants, investigation of their mental and physical health is crucial. Few studies have investigated conjointly both physical and mental health in Latino immigrant adults. Daily discrimination and acculturative stress have been found to affect the mental and physical health of Latino immigrants. Cultural strengths including social support, religiosity, and enculturation have been linked to Latino immigrant health. In the minority stress model, cultural strengths have been theorized to moderate relationships between discrimination and health. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among acculturative stress, discrimination, and mental and physical health. A secondary aim was to examine whether direct and indirect effects among these series of variables are moderated by social support, religiosity, and enculturation. A community sample of 204 Latino immigrants were recruited. Generally, bivariate associations between variables were congruent with previous research. Anxiety was found to mediated the effects of both acculturative stress and discrimination on physical health. Depression was found to mediate the effect of discrimination on physical health. Social support was found to moderate indirect effect of discrimination on physical health through depression. Enculturation moderated the indirect effects of both acculturative stress and discrimination on physical health through anxiety. Results from this study indicate that minority stressors can impact physical health through mental health, and these relationships can be buffered by links to cultural strengths including social support and enculturation.

Female genital cutting/circumcision/mutilation (FGC) is found predominantly in the Sahel, Northern Africa, removing parts/all of the clitoris, labia minora and majora in girls. Cutting the highly innervated external genitalia may change sensory processing leading to chronic pain. Fourteen Somali women in the Greater Toronto Area (21-46, Type III FGC) completed qualitative, quantitative and psychophysical methods to evaluate pain. Interviews analyzed by interpretive phenomenology form the core method, examining circumcision stories and present, embodied life. The second Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire and quantitative sensory testing with a vulvalgesiometer form secondary components. Somali women with FGC have pain-filled stories about circumcision and daily life. Socio-cultural considerations are central for women to comprehend how their own bodies feel. SF-MPQ-2 indicates low intensity or no pain symptoms; however, many body regions were indicated. QST reveals low vulvar pressure-pain thresholds. Reports from three measures suggest that FGC may cause sensory changes including chronic pain.

Female genital cutting/circumcision/mutilation (FGC) is found predominantly in the Sahel, Northern Africa, removing parts/all of the clitoris, labia minora and majora in girls. Cutting the highly innervated external genitalia may change sensory processing leading to chronic pain. Fourteen Somali women in the Greater Toronto Area (21-46, Type III FGC) completed qualitative, quantitative and psychophysical methods to evaluate pain. Interviews analyzed by interpretive phenomenology form the core method, examining circumcision stories and present, embodied life. The second Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire and quantitative sensory testing with a vulvalgesiometer form secondary components. Somali women with FGC have pain-filled stories about circumcision and daily life. Socio-cultural considerations are central for women to comprehend how their own bodies feel. SF-MPQ-2 indicates low intensity or no pain symptoms; however, many body regions were indicated. QST reveals low vulvar pressure-pain thresholds. Reports from three measures suggest that FGC may cause sensory changes including chronic pain.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser. Pp. 70-86: Bibliography.