title: [Strategies by Mexican migrants in the USA to seek health care].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the strategies used by Mexican migrants to access health services in the U.S. and Mexico.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ethnographic study in five Mexican states, selected by their migration dynamics. A series of focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted with health services users and providers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six strategies were identified and are used according to the severity of the disease: a) self-medication, b) telephone consultation with relatives, c) utilization of private services, d) travel to border towns, e) return to place of birth, f) getting medical care during their visits to places of origin.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The health care options used by Mexican migrants and their families are defined according to events related to the migration process. The implementation of public policies to protect the health of migrants on both sides of the border is critical.
authors: Centro de Investigaciones en Sistemas de Salud, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México. gnigenda@insp.mx
authors: Gustavo
authors: G
authors: Nigenda
authors: José Arturo
authors: JA
authors: Ruiz-Larios
authors: Rosa María
authors: RM
authors: Bejarano-Arias
authors: Jacqueline Elizabeth
authors: JE
authors: Alcalde-Rabanal
authors: Pastor
authors: P
authors: Bonilla-Fernández
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D014171:Transients and Migrants; D014481:United States