Marginalised health communities: Understanding communities of ‘people without papers’ as silent networks of survival

ABSTRACT

An estimated 11.3 million undocumented immigrants reside in the United States, with a majority of this population having limited access to the U.S. healthcare system. This article draws upon in-depth interviews with 25 undocumented immigrants currently living in South Florida to examine how they survive and maintain their health given they are disenfranchised from the U.S. healthcare system. Using a culture-centred approach, I invited ‘people without papers’ to share stories about how their marginalised social status and cultural backgrounds influence the everyday ways they navigate the healthcare system and make health decisions. Participants’ stories focused on four main themes: finding accessible healthcare spaces through the ‘silent network’ (local undocumented immigrants); making healthcare comfortable through cultural solidarity; and supporting emotional/mental health through the ‘silent network’.

KEYWORDS:

• Immigrants
• health
• culture-centred approach
• communities
• reflexivity

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jaime Robb

Jaime Robb is an immigrant who relocated to the United States at 11 years old. My research explores inequalities in contemporary society at the intersection of health, rhetoric, and communication surrounding marginalized populations. I use qualitative research methods to examine how the day-to-day health experiences of marginalized populations are impacted by macro-level social forces, such as health policy, economic inequality, and racism. I focus, in particular, on advancing health communication and rhetorical scholarship that engages critically with the experiences of those individuals living at the margins of dominant systems of power. My research draws on rhetorical tools as a means for deconstructing and illuminating the role communication and media representation play in facilitating and reinforcing systems of power that work against marginalized populations.