title: Ethics of care in medical tourism: Informal caregivers' narratives of responsibility, vulnerability and mutuality.
abstract: This study examines the experiences of informal caregivers in medical tourism through an ethics of care lens. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 Canadians who had accompanied their friends or family members abroad for surgery, asking questions that dealt with their experiences prior to, during and after travel. Thematic analysis revealed three themes central to an ethics of care: responsibility, vulnerability and mutuality. Ethics of care theorists have highlighted how care has been historically devalued. We posit that medical tourism reproduces dominant narratives about care in a novel care landscape. Informal care goes unaccounted for by the industry, as it occurs in largely private spaces at a geographic distance from the home countries of medical tourists.
authors: Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V58 1S6. Electronic address: rwa13@sfu.ca.
authors: Rebecca
authors: R
authors: Whitmore
authors: Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V58 1S6. Electronic address: crooks@sfu.ca.
authors: Valorie A
authors: VA
authors: Crooks
authors: Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V58 1S6. Electronic address: jeremycsnyder@sfu.ca.
authors: Jeremy
authors: J
authors: Snyder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers / Q000941:ethics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057193:Medical Tourism / Q000941:ethics; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Caregiving; Ethics of care; International healthcare; Landscapes of care; Medical tourism