scholarly journals Mobility, Latino Migrants, and the Geography of Sex Work: Using Ethnography in Public Health Assessments

2013 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thurka Sangaramoorthy ◽  
Karen Kroeger
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Needs Assessments ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Public Health Practitioners

Recent studies have documented frequent use of female sex workers among Latino migrant men in the southeastern United States, yet little is known about the context in which sex work takes place or the women who provide these services. As anthropologists working in applied public health, we use rapid ethnographic assessment as a technical assistance tool to document local understandings of the organization and typology of sex work and patterns of mobility among sex workers and their Latino migrant clients. By incorporating ethnographic methods in traditional public health needs assessments, we were able to highlight the diversity of migrant experiences and better understand the health needs of mobile populations more broadly. We discuss the findings in terms of their practical implications for HIV/STD prevention and call on public health practitioners to incorporate the concept of mobility as an organizing principle for the delivery of health care services.

scholarly journals Characteristics, sexual behaviour and access to health care services for sex workers in South Africa

Afrika Focus ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-176
Author(s):  
Marlise Richter
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sex Industry ◽  
Sex Worker ◽  
Care Services

Sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa are vulnerable to a range of factors that ill-dispose them to poor health outcomes. Their vulnerability to HIV and other STIs are many fold greater than the non-sex worker population of the same age. Health care systems world-wide are not responsive to the special needs of sex workers, and many sex workers do not receive adequate health services, education or HIV prevention tools. While the literature on female sex work in Africa is fairly robust, troubling research gaps are evident on male and transgender sex work, and the intersections of migration and sex work. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with female, male and transgender sex workers in four sites in South Africa. The research results point towards the diversity of the sex industry and the people who work in it. Sex work is an important livelihood strategy for many, and provides an income for sex workers and their extended network of dependents. Migration is a vital component in how sex worker lives and work are structured. Moreover, the article highlights the shortcomings of health care services to respond adequately to the needs of sex workers, and recommends the rolling-out of specialized, sex work-specific health care services in areas of sex work concentration, and sex work-friendly services in mainstream health care facilities in areas of low sex work concentration.

scholarly journals A qualitative study into female sex workers’ experience of stigma in the health care setting in Hong Kong

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haixia Ma ◽  
Alice Yuen Loke
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Female Sex Workers ◽  
Care Setting ◽  
Health Care Setting ◽  
Care Services

Abstract Background Hong Kong has gained a good reputation for its quality public health care services. However, there is a growing recognition that social stigma is a potential obstacle when female sex workers (FSWs) access health care services. There are a lack of studies focusing on how FSWs experience and cope with stigma when accessing health care services in Hong Kong. Objective This study aims to explore how FSWs experience stigma and develop coping strategies when accessing health care services in Hong Kong. Methods This is a qualitative interview study. Staff of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that serve sex workers in Hong Kong facilitated the process of recruiting the participants. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with 22 FSWs, focusing on their experiences of stigma and coping strategies when accessing health care services. A directed content analysis approach was adopted to analyze the data. Results The interview data can be grouped into three themes: experience of stigma in the health care setting; coping with the stigma of sex work; and the call for non-judgmental holistic health care. Conclusion This study contributes to an understanding of the experience of stigma and stigma coping strategies of FSWs when accessing health care services in Hong Kong. stigma remains an important issue for a large proportion of FSWs when they seek timely professional help, openly disclose their sex work identity, and receive comprehensive health care services. The study also highlights the need to address multiple healthcare needs of FSWs beyond STDs. Moreover, the study contributes to increasing awareness of, and respect for, the human right of FSWs to receive non-discriminatory health services.

Collective Health: Theory and Practice. Innovations From Latin America

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ligia Maria Vieira-da-Silva
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Preventive Medicine ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Universal Coverage ◽  
Social Medicine ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Unified Health System ◽  
Sanitary Reform

Throughout history, knowledge and practices on the health of populations have had different names: medical police, public health, social medicine, community health, and preventive medicine. To what extent is the Brazilian collective health, established in the 1970s, identified with and differentiated from these diverse movements that preceded it? The analysis of the socio-genesis of a social field allows us to identify the historical conditions that made possible both theoretical formulations and the achievement of technical and social practices. Collective health, a product of transformations within the medical field, constituted a rupture in relation to preventive medicine and public health and hygiene, being part of a social medicine movement in Latin America that, in turn, had identification with European social medicine in the 19th century. Focused on the development of a social theory of health that would support the process of sanitary reform, collective health has been built as a space involving several fields: scientific, bureaucratic, and political. Thus, it brought together health professionals and social scientists from universities, health care services, and social movements. Its scientific subfield has developed, and the sanitary reform project has had several successes related to the organization of a unified health system, which has ensured universal coverage for the population in Brazil. It has incorporated into and dialogued with several reformist movements in international public health, such as health promotion and the pursuit of health equity. Its small relative autonomy stems from subordination to other dominant fields and its dependence on the state and governments. However, its consolidation corresponded to the strengthening of a pole focused on the collective and universal interest, where health is not understood as a commodity, but as a right of citizenship.

scholarly journals The Association of Residence Permits on Utilization of Health Care Services by Migrant Workers in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9623
Author(s):  
Haochuan Xu ◽  
Han Yang ◽  
Hui Wang ◽  
Xuefeng Li
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Care Services ◽  
The Impact

Due to the limitations in the verifiability of individual identity, migrant workers have encountered some obstacles in access to public health care services. Residence permits issued by the Chinese government are a solution to address the health care access inequality faced by migrant workers. In principle, migrant workers with residence permits have similar rights as urban locals. However, the validity of residence permits is still controversial. This study aimed to examine the impact of residence permits on public health care services. Data were taken from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS). Our results showed that the utilization of health care services of migrant workers with residence permits was significantly better than others. However, although statistically significant, the substantive significance is modest. In addition, megacities had significant negative moderating effects between residence permits and health care services utilization. Our research results emphasized that reforms of the household registration system, taking the residence permit system as a breakthrough, cannot wholly address the health care access inequality in China. For developing countries with uneven regional development, the health care access inequality faced by migrant workers is a structural issue.

scholarly journals Role of Community Medicine during COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-244
Author(s):  
Epari Venkata Rao ◽  
Prem Sagar Panda
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Community Medicine ◽  
Public Health Services ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Public Health Expert ◽  
The Public ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Health Expert

Pandemics have significantly affected economy of each country. Health & political system have been also drastically affected in each part of the country. To fight against pandemic, it demands multidimensional approaches comprising of various measures like surveillance, containment, isolation & quarantine, border restriction as well as various socio-political and community measures. Though the entire health workforce is involved at multiple levels, the role of a community medicine/public health expert is maximum in controlling the spread in the community and managing the situation. The community medicine specialists can contribute to the public health as well as health-care services in combating the pandemic. This review has been done for giving an insight of proper utilisation of public health services and existing manpower of community medicine. Also this will channelize our health system and give a direction for combating future public health crisis.  So Government should utilise the experiences and expertise to manage the pandemic very well.

scholarly journals Prison Health as Public Health in Ontario Corrections

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Yoko Murphy ◽  
Howard Sapers
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Prison Health ◽  
Independent Review ◽  
Recent Reform ◽  
The Government

The majority of incarcerated individuals in Canada, and especially in Ontario provincial correctional institutions, are released into the community after a short duration in custody. Adult correctional populations have generally poor health, including a heightened prevalence of mental health and substance use disorders. There are legal and ethical obligations to address health care needs of incarcerated individuals, and also public health benefits from ensuring adequate, appropriate, and accessible health services to individuals in custody. The Independent Review of Ontario Corrections recommended the transformation of health care in Ontario provincial corrections in 2017, including transferring health service responsibilities to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The Correctional Services and Reintegration Act, 2018, would affirm the provincial government’s obligation to provide patient-centred, equitable health care services for individuals in custody. We encourage the Government of Ontario to proclaim the Act and continue the momentum of recent reform efforts in Ontario.

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