Transnational health resources, practices, and perspectives: Brazilian immigrant women's narratives.

Abstract

This paper examines the representations of transnational health resources, practices, and perspectives in the narratives of Brazilian immigrant women. The results of this qualitative narrative research indicated that in taking care of their health, these Brazilian immigrants often relied on a combination of personal and collective transnational resources. They engaged in a variety of pre-migration and transnational health practices and demonstrated a high degree of personal responsibility for their health, although they frequently delayed or postponed seeking formal health care. In responding to health and illness concerns, these immigrant women moved back and forth across informal and formal health care systems, crossing multiple national, cultural, and health care system borders. Their stories illustrated the transnational nature of personal, cultural, and political perspectives on health and health care and highlighted the layered complexities of immigrant women's health practices and resources.