Health / Disease

There has been much talk about decolonizing global health lately. The movement, which has arisen in various communities around the world, suggests an interesting critique of the Western dominant model of representations. Building upon the ‘decolonial thinking’ movement from the perspective of Francophone African philosophers, we comment on its potential for inspiring the field of global healthinterventions. Using existing literature and personal reflections, we reflect on two widely known illustrations of global health interventions implemented in sub-Saharan Africa – distribution of contraceptives and dissemination of Ebola virus prevention and treatment devices – featuring different temporal backdrops. We show how these solutions have most often targeted the superficial dimensions of global health problems, sidestepping the structures and mental models that shape the actions and reactions of African populations. Lastly, we question the ways through which the decolonial approach might indeed offer a credible positioning for rethinking global health interventions.

In January 2010, Haiti was hit by a terrible earthquake that pushed thousands of people to migrate. Many of them chose to settle in Quebec, Canada. Years after the earthquake, many Haitians continue to migrate to the Quebec province. Several studies however have shown that this population’s socioeconomic status is lower than the provincial average. Given the potential multiple stressors that affect Haitian migrants in Quebec, there are concerns about their health status.

Located at the intersection of international migration studies and global health, this paper offers an in-depth qualitative investigation of Haitian migrants’ representations of both their situation and self-perceived health in Montreal, Quebec. Our perspective on migrant health was inspired by the World Health Organisation’s framework on the social determinants of health and recent studies in the field of migrant health. We collected and analysed qualitative data from 23 key informants (i.e., 12 women and 11 men, aged 21-76 years old) from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. The analysis of the data from these people’s narratives revealed the importance of structural determinants such as social position, and intermediate determinants such as living and working conditions. Our analysis also highlighted several interrelations between those determinants. Specifically, participants reported coping with issues related to migrant status, income, occupation, language, and racism, and challenging living and working conditions, and stress. This study underscored the importance of social support brought by relatives, friends, as well as community-based organisations and religious practices.

Our findings were coherent with available literature looking at the determinants of health of racialized and migrant minorities in other high-income regions of the world. Our conclusive remarks featured reflections on three cross-cutting issues and their practical implications for policy and practices.

Access to quality drinking water is a fundamental right. Despite Canada’s wealth of fresh water, many First nations, including the Anishinaabeg, regularly face inequitable access to quality drinking water, a situation that has health, spiritual and cultural consequences. These injustices are a direct result of colonization and the unequal relationship between the Canadian government and First Nations, which has greatly contributed to restricting the traditional role of Anishinaabeg women as water protectors, despite their spiritual and identity connection to water. Nevertheless, these women have shown resilience, which is reflected in a number of initiatives to raise awareness, mobilize and advocate for water protection. In this article, we seek to show that an ecological and sanitary issue, such as the availability of quality drinking water for Indigenous peoples in Canada, is part of a power struggle, past and present, with the federal government and the provinces. Our article aims more specifically at : 1) showing the importance of the lack of availability of drinking water for Indigenous nations ; 2) describing the traditional role of Anishinaabeg women as water protectors ; 3) situating the water issue in its colonial context ; and 4) exploring the various mobilizations led by Indigenous women in response to this historical and political problem.

This commentary aims to provide a glimpse into some of the early and continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our global and public health projects: research in low-resourced settings; research with vulnerable populations, such as asylum seekers, Indigenous communities, children, and mental health service users; and research with healthcare professionals, frontline workers, and health planners. In the early context of restrictions caused by COVID-19, this commentary highlights our research setbacks and challenges, and the ways in which we are adapting research methodologies, while considering ethical implications related to the pandemic and their impacts on conducting global and public health research. As we learn to become increasingly aware of some of our limitations in the face of the pandemic, some positives are also worth highlighting: we are mobilizing our training and research skills to participate in COVID-19 projects and to disseminate knowledge on COVID-19, including through papers such as this one. However, we do acknowledge that these opportunities have not been equitable. Each thematic section of this commentary concludes with key recommendations related to research in the early and continuing context of the COVID-19 pandemic that we believe to be applicable to early- and not-so-early-career researchers working in the global and public health fields.

The pandemic has highlighted the complexity of public health measures and their side effects, the intricacy of the underlying health, social and political phenomena at play as well as their specificity for marginalized minority communities. Based on this experience, this commentary suggests that it would be relevant in the future to develop consultation mechanisms that take into account the entire population, including marginalized minority groups, in order to better inform decision-making processes in times of pandemic. In a context of fluid crisis, any consultation process must take into account the limits of what is possible and mourn the comprehensiveness in favour of repeated iterations of dialogue, mediation and decision-making. This means creating conditions favourable to the consideration of the most vulnerable people and groups’ voices by public authorities. In order to prepare for the next crises, it is necessary to develop strong links between public institutions and communities, both of majorities and minorities, in order to define the mechanisms favouring the emergence of truly inclusive public health, taking into account the physical, mental and social health of the population.

Objectives: We describe the knowledge translation strategies in two projects and share lessons learned about knowledge sharing and uptake.

Methods: To generate findings for dissemination: (1) the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire (RCI) project relied on a multiple case study design to document barriers and facilitators to implementing a community-led prevention strategy targeting Ebola virus disease; and (2) the Tunisia project used several designs to assess a mental health training’s effectiveness, and a case study design to explore contextual factors that may influence anticipated outcomes.

Results: To share findings with participants, the RCI project relied on workshops and a pamphlet, and the Tunisia project relied on a structured half-day dissemination workshop and research summary. Facilitators that may have encouraged sharing and using findings include involving champions in dissemination activities, ongoing collaboration, and developing/implementing context-specific knowledge sharing strategies. Barriers include omitting to assess strategies, limited consideration of a wider audience, and the exclusion of a knowledge translation training component.

Conclusions: Our experiences might be useful to contexts involved in global and public health research that wish to address the “know-do gap.”

To help primary care teams improve patient-centered care, we elicited health and life goals of immigrants with a chronic disease. We conducted an exploratory study of the (1) acceptability of home visits by volunteers to collect health information and (2) content of health and life goals within a primary care program for immigrants with chronic disease. Pairs of trained community volunteers visited 23 patients in their homes and asked them to identify three life goals and three health goals. We conducted content analyses of written notes. Health goals were related to disease prevention and symptom control, family well-being, own quality of life, own or family members’ work and/or financial situation. Life goals concerned family well-being, their own quality of life, work/financial situation and health. Given the limited time health professionals have with their patients, trained community volunteers could be important members of primary care teams caring for immigrants.

What factors influence the impact of the crisis associated with COVID-19 on Montreal cultural communities?

Our study indicates that certain groups in cultural communities are made vulnerable by the intersection of multiple economic and social factors, in particular:

• Precarious financial situation;
• Employment in a position at high risk of exposure to COVID ;
• Precarious migration status or lack of status;
• Lack of medical insurance;
• Being allophone;
• Low literacy;
• Being targeted by racism.

These factors may contribute to high levels of infection and psychosocial distress in certain multiethnic, low-income neighbourhoods in Montreal.
Public health policies must take into account the combined impact of these economic, linguistic, sociocultural and migratory factors.

1. Collect data on COVID’s social determinants
2. Facilitate community collaboration and consultation
3. Improve access to health information and guidelines through a multilingual communication
4. Promote access to health and psychosocial services
5. Provide universal access to financial support measures
6. Ensure that COVID-related workplace health and safety measures are respected
7. Guarantee food security
8. Prevent evictions linked to the pandemic
9. Promote family well-being
10. Strengthen intercommunity relations and act against racism

What factors influence the impact of the crisis associated with COVID-19 on  Montreal cultural communities?

Our study indicates that certain groups in cultural communities are made  vulnerable by the intersection of multiple economic and social factors, in  particular :

• Precarious financial situation;
• Employment in a position at high risk of exposure to COVID ;
• Precarious migration status or lack of status;
• Lack of medical insurance;
• Being allophone;
• Low literacy;
• Being targeted by racism.

These factors may contribute to high levels of infection and psychosocial  distress in certain multiethnic, low-income neighbourhoods in Montreal.

Public health policies must take into account the combined impact of these  economic, linguistic, sociocultural and migratory factors.

In our study, almost half of immigrants without health insurance perceived  their health as negative, much higher than reports of negative self-perceived health in previous Canadian studies (8.5% among recent immigrants, 19.8% among long-term immigrants, and 10.6% among Canadian-born). Our study also suggests a high rate of unmet health care needs among migrants with precarious status, a situation that is correlated with poor self-perceived health. There is a need to put social policies in place to secure access

While access to healthcare for permanent residents in Canada is well known, this is not the case for migrants without healthcare coverage. This is the first large-scale study that examines the unmet healthcare needs of migrants without healthcare coverage in Montreal. 806 participants were recruited: 436 in the community and 370 at the NGO clinic. Proportions of individuals reporting unmet healthcare needs were similar (68.4% vs. 69.8%). The main reason invoked for these unmet needs was lacking money (80.6%). Situations of not working or studying, not having had enough food in the past 12 months, not having a medical prescription to get medication and having had a workplace injury were all significantly associated with higher odds of having unmet healthcare needs. Unmet healthcare needs were more frequent among migrants without healthcare coverage than among recent immigrants or the citizens with health healthcare coverage (69%, 26%, 16%). Canada must take measures to enable these individuals to have access to healthcare according to their needs in order to reduce the risk of worsening their health status, something that may have an impact on the healthcare system and population health. The Government of Quebec announced that all individuals without any healthcare coverage will have access to COVID-19 related health care. We hope that this right, the application of which is not yet obvious, can continue after the pandemic for all health care.

• Global health can be anywhere as it often focuses on large-scale health inequities that are rooted in transnational determinants.
• Some global health initiatives and actors aim to find solutions to domestic problems.
• King and Koski’s definition of global health may exacerbate inequities by reserving the right to call oneself a global health researcher to those who are privileged and have access to funding that enables them to travel to other settings.
• An inadequate definition of global health based on a ‘here’ vs ‘somewhere else’ dichotomy could result in less funding for a field already characterised by limited resources.
• The decolonisation of global health requires promoting and valuing reflexivity, critical approaches, equitable partnerships and accountability.

Population health intervention research (PHIR) is a particular field of health research that aims to generate knowledge that contributes to the sustainable improvement of population health by enabling the implementation of cross-sectoral solutions adapted to social realities. Despite the ethical issues that necessarily raise its social agenda, the ethics of PHIR is still not very formalized. Unresolved ethical challenges may limit its focus on health equity. This contribution aims to highlight some of these issues and calls on researchers to develop a culture of ethics in PHIR. Three complementary ways are proposed: to build an ethical concept specific to this field, to promote a shared space for critical reflection on PHIR ethics, and to develop the ethical competence in PHIR for which a preliminary framework is proposed.

Objectives
The Ebola virus disease (EVD) is associated with major mental health consequences (e.g., depression, anxiety, PTSD). Studies have shown a need for relevant and effective programs to address mental health consequences associated to EVD. This systematic review aimed to describe programs implemented following EVD outbreaks and to evaluate their effectiveness and relevance in order to provide evidence-based data to improve mental health services.

Methods
We first searched EMBASE, PubMed, PsycINFO, PILOTS, Cochrane Library and MEDLINE for a systematic review on EVD and on MHPSS programs. Then, we searched the grey literature. The search generated 2827 publications. Eleven studies were retained according to the PRISMA statement.

Results
This systematic review revealed that most programs were implemented by international organizations in collaboration with local partners. Many of them were implemented following WHO mhGAP and Psychological First Aid guidelines. Programs were implemented in hospitals, Ebola treatment centres, communities among different categories of individuals exposed to EVD (survivors, health workers and volunteers, other frontline workers, children, adults, etc.). Only two of the identified programs which integrated cultural factors were empirically evaluated. Results from the evaluations showed mental health improvement for both children and adults.

Conclusions
This study provides the first systematic review on MHPSS programs among communities affected by EVD. This study shows the need to increase efforts to systematically document and evaluate the implemented programs. Results also provide preliminary evidence about the value of culturally sensitive MHPSS programs and of the implication of local mental health professionals.

L’immigration constitue une transition ayant des répercussions considérables sur la santé et le bien-être des personnes immigrantes pouvant donner lieu à des virages dans une trajectoire de vie. Le contexte dans lequel ces expériences sont vécues requiert une sensibilité aux dynamiques, aux interactions, aux trajectoires, aux situations de vulnérabilité et aux capacités de résilience qui modulent le recours et l’accès aux services de santé ainsi qu’à la justice. Il est proposé de prendre ancrage dans les expériences des femmes avec divers angles d’analyse. Il s’agira d’illustrer par le biais de trois perspectives les risques auxquels sont exposées les femmes ayant subi l’excision et l’infibulation. Le statut identitaire, notamment une identité de victime, un détachement entre le corps et le vécu seront mis en exergue comme expériences rapportées vers le développement de pratiques sensibles à la complexité des expériences, des approches se voulant réflexives, de qualité et équitables. Des illustrations sur les divergences perçues entre des pratiques et discours professionnels, et l’expérience effective des femmes, issus des communautés de pratique contribueront aux discussions.

Forced migration and extended time spent migrating may lead to prolonged marginalization and increased risk of HIV. We conducted a population-based cohort study to examine whether secondary migration status, where secondary migrants resided in a transition country prior to arrival in Ontario, Canada and primary migrants arrived directly from their country of birth, modified the relationship between refugee status and HIV. Unadjusted and adjusted prevalence ratios (APR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using log-binomial regression. In sensitivity analysis, refugees with secondary migration were matched to the other three groups on country of birth, age and year of arrival (+/− 5 years) and analyzed using conditional logistic regression. Unmatched and matched models were adjusted for age and education. HIV prevalence among secondary and primary refugees and non-refugees was 1.47% (24/1629), 0.82% (112/13,640), 0.06% (7/11,571) and 0.04% (49/114,935), respectively. Secondary migration was a significant effect modifier (p-value = .02). Refugees with secondary migration were 68% more likely to have HIV than refugees with primary migration (PR = 1.68, 95% CI 1.06, 2.68; APR = 1.68, 95% 1.04, 2.71) with a stronger effect in the matched model. There was no difference among non-refugee immigrants. Secondary migration may amplify HIV risk among refugee but not non-refugee immigrant mothers.

While a series of changes in the approaches to FGM/C health research and intervention have historically taken place, there has been an increased implementation of sexual health interventions for women with FGM/C over more than a decade. These interventions derive from health research data, but their epistemology and praxis are also informed by cultural representations of the clitoris and what it means to be ‘healthy’. This is the case, notably, for genital reconstructive surgeries, which are performed globally in spite of a lingering inconclusiveness regarding their general efficacy, Summary drawing from research in Ivory Coast and Canada, from the results of the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services- commission ED training module on FGM/C, as well as from the author’s clinical practice in mental health working with women with FGM/C, this presentation aims to illuminate the multifarious ethical underpinnings of such sexual health interventions. The overarching goal of this presentation is to share best practices in sexual health interventions in order to afford compassionate care, grounded in a reflexive and ethical professional practice.

Introduction : La « démence » est généralement vue comme un syndrome caractérisé par le déclin d’une ou de plusieurs capacités cognitives, comme la perte de mémoire. Toutefois, perte de mémoire ne signifie pas pour autant démence. La plus fréquente des démences est la maladie d’Alzheimer dont la fréquence augmente avec le grand âge. En anthropologie de la santé, les maladies et leur expression représentent des construits socio-culturels qui ne sont pas reconnus et interprétés de la même façon par tout le monde. Par ailleurs, le contexte migratoire est source de difficultés dans le domaine de la démence. Cet article vise à discuter les liens entre vieillesse, démence et recherche d’aide dans ce contexte.
Méthode : Nous nous appuyons sur une étude qualitative exploratoire. Dix entrevues semi-structurées ont été réalisées avec des femmes et des hommes nés en Haïti et qui ont ensuite immigré au Québec. Ces entrevues nous ont permis de discuter du statut des aînés, du sens donné à la perte de mémoire et de la recherche d’aide.
Résultats : Les entrevues révèlent une pluralité des représentations à propos des pertes de mémoire et de la maladie d’Alzheimer. Elles mettent en lumière une diversité de croyances, d’attitudes et de valeurs traduisant une variabilité culturelle et sociale au sein d’une même communauté. La prise en compte du contexte permet de comprendre tantôt la transformation, tantôt la continuité des représentations et des conduites vis-à-vis des pertes de mémoire.
Conclusion : La démence ne semble pas être un phénomène qui est abordé facilement au sein de la communauté haïtienne du Québec. Au final, cette étude révèle un manque d’information à ce propos.

La Maison Bleue is a community-based perinatal health and social centre in Montreal that provides services during pregnancy up to age five to families living in vulnerable contexts. The study aimed to describe: 1) the challenges and protective factors that affect the well-being of migrant families receiving care at La Maison Bleue; and 2) how La Maison Bleue strengthens resilience among these families.

Objectif
Évaluer les stratégies d’interventions dans la lutte contre le choléra à Uvira dans la perspective de les
renforcer
Matériel et méthodes.
L’étude a été évaluative recourant à des entrevues avec des acteurs impliqués dans la lutte contre le choléra et à la revue documentaire. Elle concerne la période de 2013 à 2016. Les données quantitatives relatives aux nombres de nouveaux cas et des décès ont été analysées à l’aide d’Excel. L’analyse des données qualitatives a été faite par thème en fonction des questions de recherche et au regard de la stratégie nationale de lutte contre le choléra en RDC.

Résultats
La corrélation entre les stratégies de lutte contre le choléra mises en place par les acteurs et les stratégies nationales de lutte contre le choléra reste relativement très faible dans la zone de santé. Des inadéquations entre ces deux groupes de stratégies sont ainsi relevées au cours de l’étude. Les effets positifs des différentes interventions mises en œuvre se traduisent par la diminution du nombre des nouveaux cas de choléra de 28% entre 2014 (1839 cas) et 2015 (1316 cas) et une certaine stagnation depuis 2016 autour de 1392 cas par an. L’efficacité des interventions est perçue efficace par seulement par 25% des membres de la  communauté contre 62% des agents des organisations; les effets des interventions sont estimés durables par 38% des membres de la communauté contre 68 % des agents des organisations et 34% des membres de la communauté (68% des agents des organisations) pensent que la participation communautaire est sollicitée lors des interventions de lutte contre le choléra. Par contre, la grande majorité des membres de la communauté (87%) et des agents des organisations (99%) jugent pertinentes les interventions de lutte contre le choléra au cours de l’étude. La faible implication de la communauté dans les actions de lutte contre le choléra et le caractère urgentiste des interventions sont fortement fustigés.

Conclusion
L’élimination du choléra en tant que problème de santé publique fait face à plusieurs défis dont le plus important semble être l’accès durable à plus de ressources par tous les acteurs, principalement l’État. L’implication plus visible des autorités politico-administratives est souhaitée.

This study aimed to analyze main groups accused on social media of causing or spreading the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa. In this analysis, blame is construed as a vehicle of meaning through which the lay public makes sense of an epidemic, and through which certain classes of people become “figures of blame”. Data was collected from Twitter and Facebook using key word extraction, then categorized thematically. Our findings indicate an overall proximate blame tendency: blame was typically cast on “near-by” figures, namely national governments, and less so on “distant” figures, such as generalized figures of otherness (“Africans”, global health authorities, global elites). Our results also suggest an evolution of online blame. In the early stage of the epidemic, blame directed at the affected populations was more prominent. However, during the peak of the outbreak, the increasingly perceived threat of inter-continental spread was accompanied by a progressively proximal blame tendency, directed at figures with whom the social media users had pre-existing biopolitical frustrations. Our study proposes that pro-active and on-going analysis of blame circulating in social media can usefully help to guide communications strategies, making them more responsive to public perceptions.

Immigration status and unemployment may intersect on the health outcomes of men and women. This study aimed to identify intersections between unemployment and immigration in inflammatory, metabolic and nutritional blood markers and assess gender differences.

Methods
We used Canadian Health Measures Survey data on 2493 participants aged 18 to 65. Outcomes were chronic inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and fibrinogen), nutritional (albumin and hemoglobin), and metabolic blood markers (glycosylated hemoglobin, blood glucose, total and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol). Multivariate linear regressions were used to assess the associations between each biomarker, unemployment and immigrant status, controlling for age, education, province, smoking, physical inactivity and body mass index and testing for multiplicative interactions between unemployment, immigrant status and gender.

Results
Unemployment was associated with higher inflammation (hsCRP and fibrinogen) in Canadian born men; Canadian born employed women showed higher hsCRP values compared with corresponding employed men. Unemployed immigrant women presented the highest values of hsCRP while employed immigrant women had the lowest hsCRP. Unemployment was associated with higher glucose; immigrant status was associated with higher glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin. Unemployed immigrants had significantly lower levels of hemoglobin and albumin than employed immigrants, and Canadian-born citizens regardless of their employment status. Some of these associations were attenuated after adjustment by body mass index, physical inactivity and smoking.

Conclusion
Blood biomarkers unveil intersections among unemployment, immigration and gender. This study provides evidence on biological pathways of unemployment on the likelihood of common chronic diseases, inflammation and potential malnutrition with some increased vulnerabilities in unemployed immigrants, and particularly in unemployed immigrant women.

Pour intervenir auprès des travailleurs immigrants, les professionnels de la santé et les intervenants en santé et en sécurité du travail ont des contacts directs avec eux, soit en personne, soit par téléphone. Ces interlocuteurs étant issus d’horizons culturels variés, leurs rencontres, dites interculturelles, peuvent mettre en relief des perspectives très différentes. Or, on ne peut traiter un travailleur ayant subi une lésion professionnelle sans tenir compte d’une multitude de facteurs qui influencent ses valeurs et la représentation qu’il se fait de lui-même (identité personnelle, organisation sociale, éducation, classe sociale, genre, religion ou idéologie, etc.). Ces variables peuvent présenter d’importants écarts de représentations culturelles entre les individus et être une source de malentendus, d’incompréhension ou de désaccords qui doivent absolument être pris en considération. Pour que ces rencontres favorisent un retour réussi au travail, il importe d’encourager le développement de la compétence interculturelle des intervenants dans les organisations. Ce document a été conçu pour servir d’instrument de réflexion visant à favoriser le développement de telles compétences.

Québec’s labour market has changed significantly in the past few years, notably with the slower growth of the labour force, an aging population, higher education levels among workers and an increasing proportion of immigrants in the workforce.
In its recent work on occupational rehabilitation, the IRSST has taken a particular interest in workers in vulnerable situations, including immigrant workers. Immigrant workers are considered a more vulnerable population due to, among other things, their proportionately higher-than-average presence in sectors characterized by less favourable working conditions and higher exposure to the risk of occupational injuries. Language and cultural barriers sometimes compound these factors.
The content of this document derives from a study titled The Notion of Ethnocultural Belonging in Rehabilitation Research and Intervention: Knowledge Summaries (published in 2012) and a study (completed in 2017) on the rehabilitation and return-to-work trajectories of immigrant workers with an occupational injury. This study highlighted the role of the health professionals and OHS practitioners involved, their intervention strategies and interactions, and the issues specific to intercultural encounters, while underscoring the impact of the organizational context on these aspects

Synthèse du symposium du 28 novembre 2018.

Objectives Immigrants are thought to be healthier than their native-born counterparts, but less is known about the health of refugees or forced migrants. Previous studies often equate refugee status with immigration status or country of birth (COB) and none have compared refugee to non-refugee immigrants from the same COB. Herein, we examined whether: (1) a refugee mother experiences greater odds of adverse maternal and perinatal health outcomes compared with a similar non-refugee mother from the same COB and (2) refugee and non-refugee immigrants differ from Canadian-born mothers for maternal and perinatal outcomes.

Design This is a retrospective population-based database study. We implemented two cohort designs: (1) 1:1 matching of refugees to non-refugee immigrants on COB, year and age at arrival (±5 years) and (2) an unmatched design using all data.

Setting and participants Refugee immigrant mothers (n=34 233), non-refugee immigrant mothers (n=243 439) and Canadian-born mothers (n=615 394) eligible for universal healthcare insurance who had a hospital birth in Ontario, Canada, between 2002 and 2014.

Primary outcomes Numerous adverse maternal and perinatal health outcomes.

Results Refugees differed from non-refugee immigrants most notably for HIV, with respective rates of 0.39% and 0.20% and an adjusted OR (AOR) of 1.82 (95% CI 1.19 to 2.79). Other elevated outcomes included caesarean section (AOR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.08) and moderate preterm birth (AOR 1.08, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.17). For the majority of outcomes, refugee and non-refugee immigrants experienced similar AORs when compared with Canadian-born mothers.

Conclusions Refugee status was associated with a few adverse maternal and perinatal health outcomes, but the associations were not strong except for HIV. The definition of refugee status used herein may not sensitively identify refugees at highest risk. Future research would benefit from further

For women living with HIV infection in India, stigma is a pervasive reality and the greatest barrier to accessing treatment, quality of life and survival. Defining stigma according to Goffman as a socially conceived abnormality, this paper then draws on Engel’s biopsychosocial model for chronic disease to show the pervasive nature of stigma as a continuum affecting all dimensions of life for married, monogamous Indian women with positive HIV sero-status.
Two distinct perspectives were identified in the literature: 1) Public: social and relational stigma, or 2) Private: internalised psychological stigma. Only four of the twenty published works reviewed noted interrelationships between these public and private spheres. Only one of those employed an ethnographic
methodology to understand stigma from the perspective of the women themselves.
While concepts associated with stigma among women living with HIV are diversely employed in research, by considering them as a whole through an intersectional biopsychosocial lens, this paper attempts to provide a basis for implementing integrated and tailored responses. Once the manifestations and interconnected causes of particular groups of HIV-positive women’s marginalisation are identified from their perspective, corresponding HIV-care programs and research activities can be designed. Such programs can be tailored with dual objectives: 1) to respond in a coordinated manner to the particular women’s own identified and prioritised daily needs across biomedical treatment and social and psychological support, and 2) to work to promote change in social constructions of stigma that form barriers to care.

Highlights

La santé mondiale est un vaste champ de savoirs et d’interventions dont l’intérêt porte sur des grands enjeux comme les inégalités sociales transnationales qui affectent toutes les populations dans le monde. La constitution d’un savoir issu de pratiques comparatives entre groupes sociodémographiques est un moyen d’informer l’intervention destinée à ce qui est communément qualifié de communautés. Selon une certaine littérature, les disparités raciales et ethniques sanitaires sont un problème de santé mondiale. Malgré la controverse qui entoure l’usage de la catégorie de race, à laquelle sont souvent associées voire préférées celles d’ethnicité ou encore de culture, certains auteurs jugent que leur mobilisation comme cadre d’analyse reste pertinente pour discuter et rendre compte des iniquités sociales dans le monde. En d’autres mots, ces catégories permettraient d’identifier des groupes et des individus désavantagés sur le plan médico-sanitaire.

Objectifs

Cahier REALISME n°11 : L’équité en santé mondiale : qu’en est-il de la fabrique, de la circulation et des conséquences des stéréotypes sur les populations ? vise à discuter la manière dont ces trois catégories sont instrumentalisées par les pratiques sanitaires qui constituent, ensemble, comme cela avait déjà été proposé dans un autre contexte, un système d’opposition et de différence. En d’autres mots, la construction de cette forme de savoir relève de pratiques dans le champ sanitaire qui en viennent à reproduire, renforcer et donner un nouveau sens à la différence dans l’opposition. C’est un ensemble d’opérations qui aboutissent éventuellement à la constitution de stéréotypes à connotation raciale, ethnique voire culturelle.

Méthodes

Nos propos s’appuient sur deux recherches ayant été menées aux États-Unis et au Burkina Faso. La première a procédé à une déconstruction du discours de la santé publique américaine et plus précisément des pratiques et des représentations à propos de la catégorie de race. Elle la situe dans son contexte historique et politique. La seconde a observé la circulation de stéréotypes à propos de certaines populations locales au sein des discours de professionnels de santé au Burkina Faso. Elle a aussi permis de discuter des conséquences potentielles de ces stéréotypes sur une politique sanitaire.

Résultats

Plus globalement, dans ce commentaire, nous discutons des conséquences potentielles des stéréotypes sur la santé des populations visées et sur leurs conduites. Enfin, nous cherchons à dégager des moyens de sortir d’un discours qui a tendance à naturaliser la différence et à donner beaucoup de place à la question de la diversité tout en omettant, dans une certaine mesure, la question du racisme et des inégalités sociales et économiques partout présentes.

Introduction