Struggle as the context of household health work for Mexican American women.
A focused ethnographic study was conducted among 13 moderately to highly acculturated American mothers of Mexican ancestry to determine how they influence the health of their family members. Using the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of health (a state of physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease) as a guide for interview questions, we conducted 32 in-depth interviews with study participants. The thread of struggle ran through each woman's narrative. Women's process of struggle is presented as one way to conceptualize the gendered nature of household health work.
Mendelson
Cindy
C
College of Nursing, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. cfmendelson@salud.nm.edu
D000069:Acculturation; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D005191:Family Characteristics / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D033262:Narration; D009516:New Mexico; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health / Q000208:ethnology; D014931:Women, Working / Q000523:psychology