1. Objectifs

Intentions :
This research tries to understand «how health problems instigate and maintain migrant women’s housing insecurity and homelessness; ways in which women’s immigration trajectories and legal status may influence their health experiences; and particular coping strategies that migrant women employ in efforts to maintain or manage their health.» (p. 90-91) The study addresses issues surrounding family separation, lack of family support, and the fear of being rejected by a family sponsor due to additional medical costs if they are ill.

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
The sample is constituted of «26 adult newcomer women (ranging in age from 20 to 65, with many in their 30s) [...] recruited in Montreal, Canada. “Newcomer” was defined as foreign-born women who came to live in Canada during the previous ten years, regardless of their immigration status. […] In addition, five key informants working in four local women’s shelters participated in […] interviews designed to gather information about newcomer women’s homelessness or housing insecurity from a service provider’s perspective and best practices and challenges in serving the target population.» (p. 94)

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien semi-directif

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

«Migrant women’s experiences with housing insecurity demonstrate how the social determinants of gender, migration status/experience and housing shape health in different ways than for Canadian-born women. […].» (p. 99) For example, «[o]ftentimes, women draw on social supports as a protective factor in the face of health concerns or stress. However, […] these supports were either not present or not adequate to meet the level of need when a health crisis occurred. When migrant women are separated from their families and become ill, there is often limited to no support system to assist with caregiving, household upkeep and economic well-being. Many of our research participants also voiced the lack of support of family, with spouses, parents and siblings remaining behind in their countries of origin for economic, immigration and/or health reasons.» (p. 97) Furthermore, some women experience a «fear of the rejection of visa renewals or permanent residency applications on the grounds of “excessive demand” on the healthcare system.» (p. 99) Then they fear «the potential denial of the future sponsorship of family members being a worry when accessing healthcare. […] For women who are mothers and have migrated and continue to parent […] there is tremendous pressure to be neither sick nor homeless. Their responsibilities may not have lessened simply because they are no longer physically present with their families […].» (p. 100)