MIGRATION AND HEALTH - A STUDY OF LATIN-AMERICAN REFUGEES, THEIR EXILE IN SWEDEN AND REPATRIATION

Objective - To analyse and elucidate the migration process in order to identify psyche-social themes which might act as stressors with influ ence on health. Design - Qualitative in-depth interviews with eleven s trategically selected Latin American refugees. Setting - Latin America n refugees living in Lund, a university town, and those who were repat riated to Santiago, Chile. Participants - 11 Latin Americans of whom 4 were repatriated to Chile. Results - The migration process was divide d into four courses of events: cultural background and everyday life; organized violence; the exile; the repatriation. ''Themes'' such as cu ltural and working identity and high control were extracted from the d ialogues as central buffering factors against microbiological or physi cochemical disease agents harboured by the individual. Conclusions - D uring the exile the cultural barrier, social degradation, guilt, socia l passivity, and ideological alienation cause a changed identity and l ow control which increase the vulnerability to psychological distress and physical disease.