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Tracking medical repatriations to Mexico: Experiences from the field
Following purposeful snowball sampling, contact was established with 5 national NGOs offering migrant services, governmental migrant service offices and hospitals in six states (and DF). Over 5 months, informal interviews and correspondence with health professionals, NGOs, and governmental staff were recorded in field-notes. To map the social and bureaucratic landscape, data was analyzed qualitatively. Early findings suggest recruitment through governmental offices and hospitals yield more participants (6 cases) compared to NGOs. Efforts with NGOs have yielded no participants. Government agencies encounter patients seeking assistance post-repatriation or when Mexican consulates aide with transit visas for patients facing repatriation. Recruitment challenges include little follow-up by American hospitals, no tracking by U.S. authorities, and no patient registry. To overcome challenges, affiliations with a university and NGO were leveraged.
Few Mexican officials and healthcare professionals are knowledgeable of medical repatriations and have contact with patients pre/post-repatriation. Nescience of patients' repatriation histories may negatively affect treatment and wellbeing. American hospitals offer minimal coordination with Mexican institutions. Non-involvement by U.S. authorities to track repatriations hinders researchers and policy-makers in assessing the scope and impact of repatriations.
Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadershipChronic disease management and prevention
Diversity and culture
Ethics, professional and legal requirements
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Explain the medical repatriation process of undocumented and uninsured patients from U.S. hospitals to Mexico
Describe the process of mapping the scope of medical repatriations to Mexico and tracking patient encounters with Mexican state and civil agencies
Discuss alternative recruitment strategies for tracking repatriated patients and other binational populations in Mexico
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: As a Fulbright research scholar, I have been carrying out field work in Mexico for the past 5 months, researching the practice of medical repatriations of chronically ill or injured undocumented patients to Mexico. I have authored a peer-reviewed commentary,"Passport biopsies: Hospital deportations and implications for social work", which was published in the journal Social Work in 2013. My research interests include assessing the impact of repatriations on patient health and their families.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.