Abstract
Although the frequency of self-medication among Mexican migrants has been well-documented in the public health literature, the multiple reasons for this practice are poorly understood. Most studies point to migrants’ cultural preferences for Mexican medications, their prior experiences in countries where antibiotics are loosely regulated, and their lack of access to health care as the primary factors behind their self-medication. Based on participant observation and in-depth interviews with 23 Mexican migrants in a farm working community in the interior of California, we argue that occupational vulnerability is an equally important factor that encourages self-medication. All 23 of our interviewees reported having engaged in some degree of self-medication, notable in this location 8 h from the US–Mexico border. Among interviewees, occupational vulnerability represented an even more important factor influencing self-medication than lack of health insurance or lack of legal documentation. While interviewees did express a preference for Mexican medications as more potent and effective, this did not necessarily translate to a preference for using them without a doctor’s supervision. Finally, we show that rather than remaining unaware of the risks of following this custom “transported from Latin America”, Mexican migrants devised an elaborate hierarchy of resort of the safest self-medication practices to follow.
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Notes
Interviewees also mentioned the possibility of having friends and family in Mexico send them medications through the mail. However, the cost of international postage, the possibility of the medication spoiling during the journey, and the length of time involved made this a less popular means of obtaining medications than the other methods detailed above. "It takes a long time for them to arrive. And sometimes they charge half the price of the medication just for the postage," said one participant of such medical care packages.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank our interviewees for graciously sharing with us meals, friendship, and personal narratives about their lives and how they access health care. This research was made possible by funding from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Montana and by a small grant from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado, Denver.
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Horton, S., Stewart, A. Reasons for Self-Medication and Perceptions of Risk Among Mexican Migrant Farm Workers. J Immigrant Minority Health 14, 664–672 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-011-9562-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-011-9562-6