Diaspora and Health? Traditional Medicine and Culture in a Mexican Migrant Community
| Author | Anna Waldstein |
| Published date | 01 December 2008 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2008.00490.x |
| Date | 01 December 2008 |
Diaspora and Health? Traditional
Medicine and Culture in a
Mexican Migrant Community
Anna Waldstein*
ABSTRACT
As members of the Mexican diaspora acculturate ⁄assimilate to life in the
United States they gain skills that help them improve their socioeconomic
status and overcome barriers to the mainstream American healthcare sys-
tem. Thus, we might expect better health among more acculturated Mexi-
cans. However, most of the research conducted during the past 20 years
shows that the health of Mexicans living in the United States deteriorates
as acculturation increases. This suggests that certain health promoting
aspects of Mexican culture are lost as migrants adapt to and adopt Ameri-
can ways of life. This paper is the first step in testing the hypothesis that
declining health among acculturated people of Mexican descent is related
to a loss of traditional medical knowledge.
During an ethnographic study of women’s medical knowledge in an unac-
culturated Mexican migrant community in Athens, Georgia, I observed
many ways low-income, undocumented migrants maintain good health.
Migrant women encourage health-promoting behaviors and treat sick
family members with a variety of home remedies that appear to be effec-
tive according to chemical and pharmacological analyses. Additionally,
migrant women in Athens learn how to navigate the American medical
and social service systems and overcome barriers to professional healthcare
services using information provided through social networks. Nevertheless,
migrant women often prefer to treat sick family at home and indicated a
preference for Mexican folk medicines over professional medical care in
most situations.
This case study suggests that migration and diaspora need not always lead
to disease. The maintenance of a Mexican culture that is distinct from the
rest of American society helps ensure that traditional medical knowledge is
* Department of Anthropology, University of Kent.
2008 The Author
Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Journal Compilation 2008 IOM
9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK, International Migration Vol. 46 (5) 2008
and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. ISSN 0020-7985
doi:10.1111/j.1468-2435.2008.00490.x
not lost, while the social networks that link Mexicans to each other and to
their homeland help minimize threats to health, which are usually associ-
ated with migration. Thus, increased access to professional medical care
may not improve the health of migrants if it comes with the loss of tradi-
tional medical knowledge.
INTRODUCTION
While migration has become an integral part of modern globalization, it
is as old as human society. Unfortunately, morbidity and mortality are
associated with both voluntary and forced migration. Most migrants
have had to adapt to poor ecological and economic conditions at home
and abroad that put them at increased risk of disease and death. In
many parts of the world migrants become isolated and suffer infectious
and chronic illnesses, work-related injuries and depression (Carballo and
Nerukar, 2001). Migrants get sick for many reasons; they receive little
medical care and often find themselves living and working in poor (i.e.
overcrowded, unsanitary, toxic) environments that are often associated
with malnutrition. Moreover, discrimination against migrants in host
societies contributes to unhealthy lifestyles and the migration experience
itself is inevitably a source of great stress (Bruhn, 1997). Female
migrants may face extra challenges related to reproductive health, cul-
tural practices and attitudes toward women (Carballo and Nerukar,
2001).
When diasporas emerge from long-term migration flows, the impacts on
human health may become even more pronounced. The definition of
diaspora has evolved greatly since it was first used to describe the Baby-
lonian exile of the Jews. However, most scholars agree that contempo-
rary diasporas share three fundamental elements: dispersion of a
population in space, homeland orientation, and the preservation of an
identity and culture that is distinct from that of the host society (Bru-
baker, 2005). This latter characteristic contributes to the marginalization
and social exclusion of diaspora communities, which can in turn breed
poverty and threaten health.
Although the Mexican diaspora has been described as incipient, discrim-
ination against immigrants and their descendents, the close proximity to
Mexico, and the development of family and migration networks have
maintained a distinctly Mexican culture within the United States (Gonz-
alez Gutierrez, 1999). Members of the Mexican diaspora face a variety
of factors that put them at increased risk of disease. Most Mexicans in
96 Waldstein
2008 The Author
Journal Compilation 2008 IOM
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