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Determinants of Subjective Social Status and Health Among Latin American Women Immigrants in Spain: A Qualitative Approach

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Abstract

This qualitative study was carried out to better understand factors that determine the subjective social status of Latin Americans in Spain. The study was conducted following a theoretical framework and forms part of broader study on subjective social status and health. Ten immigrant participants engaged in semi-structured interviews, from which data were collected. The study results show that socioeconomic aspects of the crisis and of policies adopted have shaped immigrant living conditions in Spain. Four major themes that emerged from the analysis were related to non-recognition of educational credentials, precarious working conditions, unemployment and loneliness. These results illustrate the outcomes of current policies on health and suggest a need for health professionals to orient practices toward social determinants, thus utilizing evaluations of subjective social status to reduce inequalities in health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Enfermería, Escuela de Enfermería, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda de Valdecilla s/n, 39008, Santander, Spain

    Mª Visitación Sanchón-Macias, María Paz-Zulueta & Blanca Torres

  2. Department of Nursing, University of Islas Baleares, Carretera de Valldemossa, km 7.5, 07122, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Andreu Bover-Bover

  3. Observatorio de Salud Pública de Cantabria, Avda de Valdecilla s/n, 39008, Santander, Spain

    Dolores Prieto-Salceda

  4. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Suite 130, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Denise Gastaldo

Authors
  1. Mª Visitación Sanchón-Macias
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  2. Andreu Bover-Bover
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  3. Dolores Prieto-Salceda
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  4. María Paz-Zulueta
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  5. Blanca Torres
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  6. Denise Gastaldo
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Correspondence to Mª Visitación Sanchón-Macias.

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Sanchón-Macias, M.V., Bover-Bover, A., Prieto-Salceda, D. et al. Determinants of Subjective Social Status and Health Among Latin American Women Immigrants in Spain: A Qualitative Approach. J Immigrant Minority Health 18, 436–441 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-015-0197-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-015-0197-x

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