What is the cultural aspect of the intercultural meeting of health care for international migrant populations in Chile? Some anthropological reflections

Abstract

Chile has become a host country for an international migrant population in the past years, with a growing influx of immigrants over time. Among the challenges of international migration, it is the equitable and timely access of international migrants to the health system, reporting barriers to access to health care. Among the barriers, the intercultural encounter in health and health care with cultural relevance to the needs of the migrant population are
identified. In this essay we develop a reflection on the cultural aspects that are inherent to the health care environment, considering the place, actors that participate in the interaction and the time taken. A prior conceptual framework is developed to lay the foundations for reflection, based on the concepts of culture, intercultural health and symbolic interactionism as a proposal for an approach to this phenomenon. For the realization of this article, a bibliographic review is carried out in scientific databases (Pubmed, Scielo and Google Scholar) and grey literature, with the aim of reflecting on the cultural aspects in the health care encounter among international migrant population and the healthcare professionals who serve them.