Diagnostic testing: therapeutic mobilities, social fields, and medical encounters in the transnational healthcare practices of Polish migrants in the UK
Diagnostic testing: therapeutic mobilities, social fields, and medical encounters in the transnational healthcare practices of Polish migrants in the UK
While diagnostic tests are a fundamental component of contemporary medical practice they are seldom considered in studies of transnational healthcare. This article investigates the little-studied role played by diagnostic testing in the healthcare-seeking practices of migrants. It is concerned with the experiences of Polish migrants living in the UK and who access a variety of health services in their host and origin countries across the public and private sectors. We analyse data from semi-structured phone interviews conducted in 2020 with 32 adult Poles living in the UK who identified as having themselves, or non-professionally caring for someone with, a long-term health condition. The article contributes to the literature on migrants’ transnational healthcare practices by showing the centrality of diagnostic technology in their health management and sense-making through the creation, modification, and maintenance of ‘transnational social fields’ (Levitt and Schiller 2004). By emphasizing the role of tests in the patient-doctor relationship the article exposes the therapeutic outcomes of the mobilities of patients and tests as they intersect with physicians in multiple medical encounters.
Transnational healthcare, Therapeutic mobilities, Tests, Transnational social fields, Polish migration
Troccoli, Giuseppe
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Moreh, Chris
b31194b4-4da4-4cd5-ba62-c451c4d12f53
Mcghee, Derek
63b8ae1e-8a71-470c-b780-2f0a95631902
Vlachantoni, Athina
06a52fbb-f2a0-4c81-9fbc-d6efc736c6cb
5 April 2022
Troccoli, Giuseppe
03b6b60b-d848-4714-bf14-8ffd25a88e09
Moreh, Chris
b31194b4-4da4-4cd5-ba62-c451c4d12f53
Mcghee, Derek
63b8ae1e-8a71-470c-b780-2f0a95631902
Vlachantoni, Athina
06a52fbb-f2a0-4c81-9fbc-d6efc736c6cb
Troccoli, Giuseppe, Moreh, Chris, Mcghee, Derek and Vlachantoni, Athina
(2022)
Diagnostic testing: therapeutic mobilities, social fields, and medical encounters in the transnational healthcare practices of Polish migrants in the UK.
Journal of Migration and Health, 5, [100100].
(doi:10.1016/j.jmh.2022.100100).
Abstract
While diagnostic tests are a fundamental component of contemporary medical practice they are seldom considered in studies of transnational healthcare. This article investigates the little-studied role played by diagnostic testing in the healthcare-seeking practices of migrants. It is concerned with the experiences of Polish migrants living in the UK and who access a variety of health services in their host and origin countries across the public and private sectors. We analyse data from semi-structured phone interviews conducted in 2020 with 32 adult Poles living in the UK who identified as having themselves, or non-professionally caring for someone with, a long-term health condition. The article contributes to the literature on migrants’ transnational healthcare practices by showing the centrality of diagnostic technology in their health management and sense-making through the creation, modification, and maintenance of ‘transnational social fields’ (Levitt and Schiller 2004). By emphasizing the role of tests in the patient-doctor relationship the article exposes the therapeutic outcomes of the mobilities of patients and tests as they intersect with physicians in multiple medical encounters.
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Accepted/In Press date: 2 April 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 5 April 2022
Published date: 5 April 2022
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the ESRC under Grant number 518928101 , Centre for Population Change Transition Funding.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022
Keywords:
Transnational healthcare, Therapeutic mobilities, Tests, Transnational social fields, Polish migration
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Local EPrints ID: 456515
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/456515
PURE UUID: ecbbc025-c42b-436b-ba20-6b75558eb17b
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Date deposited: 04 May 2022 17:04
Last modified: 11 May 2024 01:49
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Author:
Derek Mcghee
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