International Journal of Social Work and Human Services Practice Vol. 2(4), pp. 115 - 123
DOI: 10.13189/ijrh.2014.020402
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Facing the Healthcare System as a Refugee: An Examination of Somali Women's Prenatal Experiences

Rachel Robinson ^1,*, Malcolm Cort ^2
1 Alabama A&M University P.O. Box 1417 Normal, AL 35762
² Athens State University 300 N Beaty St. Athens, AL 35611

ABSTRACT

This study uses a qualitative approach to examine how biopolitics and medical dominance affect the lives of refugee women of Somali origin. The focus is on examining interactions between Somali women and healthcare providers in a Northwestern city in the United States. These interactions create spaces of contestation and negotiation in which Somali women's meanings of prenatal experiences are illuminated. The study utilizes the context of prenatal care and delivery to examine the way this subordinate group is treated, their reaction to this treatment, and the perceptions which are in turn engendered by their reaction to this treatment. Biopolitics in this context is a conceptual collaborator in illuminating the body as a source of transcendental identity. It will be particularized by illuminating U.S. health care providers within the context of providing prenatal services to Somali women refugee patients. Within this context Somali women are representative of particular ideological identities that are conveyed within biomedical interactions.

KEYWORDS
Biopolitics, Medical Dominance, Somali Women, Refugees, Dimensions of Disturbance

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Rachel Robinson , Malcolm Cort , "Facing the Healthcare System as a Refugee: An Examination of Somali Women's Prenatal Experiences," International Journal of Social Work and Human Services Practice, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 115 - 123, 2014. DOI: 10.13189/ijrh.2014.020402.

(b). APA Format:
Rachel Robinson , Malcolm Cort (2014). Facing the Healthcare System as a Refugee: An Examination of Somali Women's Prenatal Experiences. International Journal of Social Work and Human Services Practice, 2(4), 115 - 123. DOI: 10.13189/ijrh.2014.020402.