The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions and
meanings of type II diabetes among Mexican American farmworking women working in
California’s Northern San Joaquin Valley. Perceptions of type II diabetes play a major
role in how Mexican American farmworking women feel about diabetes and these
perceptions influence diabetes treatment strategies and health care decisions. Yet, little is
known about the perceptions and meanings that farmworking women attribute to type II
diabetes. A qualitative interdisciplinary research methodology (integrating knowledge
from social work and nursing) involving open-ended, in-depth interviews with a nonprobabilistic
sample of 17 Mexican American farmworking women was used to gain an
understanding of how farmworking women make meaning of type II diabetes. Based on
Kleinman’s (1980) explanatory model, salient themes in the areas of illness, causation,
treatment and perceptions were identified. The study showed that farmworking women
have a predominantly cultural perspective of diabetes. A large majority of women applied
cultural beliefs and traditional home remedies to the treatment of diabetes; although many were not opposed to incorporating western medicine into cultural treatment strategies.
Causation of diabetes was attributed to a transformation of blood and destabilization of
the pancreas as a result of Susto (fright), an ethno-specific illness. Home remedy and
dosing strategies were categorized and farmworking women revealed subjective
definitions of high blood glucose and heredity that are dissimilar to western biomedicine.
Understanding how farmworking women conceptualize and make meaning of type II
diabetes and including these important culturally influenced beliefs and treatment
strategies into interdisciplinary health care practices and service delivery systems can
serve as a basis for modifying current medical theoretical orientations about diabetes
education, treatment and maintenance strategies and service provision for this particularly
vulnerable population. Additionally, the inclusion of cultural beliefs and treatment
strategies can engender trust and facilitate meaningful, reciprocal relationships between
patients and health care providers, which are considered essential for developing
culturally meaningful, effective treatment, and competent and responsible service
provision. / text
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTEXAS/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/7476 |
| Date | 26 May 2010 |
| Creators | Lopez, Olivia |
| Source Sets | University of Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | electronic |
| Rights | Copyright is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works. |
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