Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

This research is significant to both the sub-themes selected, as it looks at how the migrant communities in De Doorns navigate the health system in their new "homes", or rather for some, their places of residence. The study has brought to light that numerous challenges exist within the health system, creating barriers for migrants to receive the services they require. Migrants are identifying language to be a primary one. When they go to the clinic or hospital, the staff do not speak their local languages. This creates difficulty in communicating their health problems, and many migrants feel discouraged to return because they do not get the treatment they need. Another barrier they have identified is long wait times. Many take time off from their work on the farms, often unpaid, to go to the clinic. They wait for hours, and sometimes the entire day, and still do not end up receiving services. Many are asked to come back another day, after an entire day has been wasted. The migrants share that the facilities are overburdened and understaffed. As most of them cannot afford to lose earnings, and their managers on the farms do not pay for lost time, they often ignore health conditions until things get severe and hamper their work. The operating hours of the clinic in the community have also been identified as not being accommodating to the needs of the migrants, and they are forced to go to the Worcester hospital on weekends and afterhours, which is a fair distance and leaves them with transportation costs. The verbalized barriers which the migrants have shared provide many opportunities for the health system to strengthen itself. Through all of the challenges, the voices of the migrants in this study showcase resilience. Even with the challenges, the migrant communities still continue to make health a priority. Every participant in this study thus far has verbalized it to be important to them. They take care of each other, make a living and survive.