Journal Article

Illuminating health aspects for immigrant Thai women in Swedish transnational marriages

Kijsomporn, Jureerat, Pongthippat, Weerati, Darvishpour, Mehrdad, Östlund, Gunnel, Gustafsson, Lena-Karin

2024

Overview

Background Women who are migrants experience discrimination and face major risks, including sexual exploitation, trafficking, and violence, which affect their health and well-being. This study explored critical health incidents experienced by immigrant Thai women in marriage migration. Methods A qualitative explorative approach with in-depth interviews was used. Forty immigrant Thai women who currently or previously had a Swedish spouse were recruited for the study. An inductive critical incident technique was used to collect and analyze the data as the first step. In a second deductive step, the Newman system model was used to categorize health dilemmas. Results The women reported 438 critical health incidents in five main areas. Psychological health dilemmas included emotional abuse, feeling overwhelmed due to family responsibilities and the stress of leaving family behind. Sociocultural health dilemmas included transnational family duties or not performing family duties. Physiological health dilemmas included experiencing physical violence and environmental, domestic or work accidents. Developmental health dilemmas included failing health, difficulties upholding the duties expected of a spouse in the target culture and caring for an elderly husband. Spiritual health dilemmas included critical incidents in which the women perceived themselves to have failed in their hopes and duties as a wife, which intensified their dependence on faith, particularly the Buddhist concept of karma. Conclusion Professionals in health and welfare practices in Thailand together with professionals in Western countries who work with women in marriage migration situations need to recognize the psychological, sociocultural, physiological, developmental, and spiritual health dilemmas experienced by these women. Furthermore, civil organizations that meet Thai women in foreign countries, such as Buddhist cultural associations, would benefit from the multicultural knowledge revealed by the present study. This knowledge can facilitate healthcare and welfare support for women in marriage migration situations.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Accidents / Adult / Anatomical systems / Critical incident technique / Critical incidents / Culture / Data analysis / Discrimination / Discrimination in medical care / Domestic violence / Elderly women / Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology / Emigrants and Immigrants - statistics & numerical data / Emotional abuse / Emotions / Equal rights / Exploitation / Families & family life / Female / Gynecology / Health aspects / Health services / Health Status / Humans / Immigrants / Immigration marriage fraud / Internal migration / International marriages / Interviews / Karma / Marriage / Marriage - ethnology / Marriage - psychology / Maternal and Child Health / Medical personnel / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Mental health / Middle Aged / Migrants / Migration / Multiculturalism & pluralism / Occupational safety / Older people / Personal relationships / Physiology / Prevention / Professionals / Psychological aspects / Psychological well being / Qualitative Research / Reproductive Medicine / Sexual behavior / Sexual exploitation / Social aspects / Sociocultural factors / Southeast Asian cultural groups / Southeast Asian People / Spiritual well being / Spirituality / Spouses / Spouses - psychology / Statistics / Stress, Psychological - psychology / Sweden / Thailand - ethnology / Trafficking / Transnationalism / Violence / Welfare / Well being / Women / Women immigrants / Women’s health