The Nursing School of Coimbra (ESEnfC) is a partner of the project
“SauDar – Gender, Health and Immigration”, developed by the Graal Association
with the cooperation, among others, of the Gaudemus – Juvenile Association.
This project is intended to «facilitate the access of immigrant women to
primary and maternal-paediatric care, trying to overcome stereotypes, since
health professionals are not always ready to deal with different cultural
situations», as stated by Doutora Natália Cruz, responsible for the Graal
Association (Group of Coimbra).
Paula Monteiro, professor at the ESEnfC, mentions that there is an
increasingly higher number of women associated to autonomous migratory projects
and not only related to family reunification. This calls attention for a
necessary special care when dealing with this group, also in terms of assessing
their vulnerability to stress and protecting their mental health and quality of
life.
Bearing in mind that women are vulnerable in certain contexts, this
becomes more evident among immigrant women, especially among those who arrive
alone to an unknown country, without social support networks and with a higher
probability of becoming victims of violence and sexual exploitation, as
emphasized by Paula Monteiro from the Scientific-Pedagogical Unit in Mental
Health, Family and Community.
There are other difficult situations for these women: the socio-economic
and labour integration, as well as the bureaucratic processes of our
legislation, since they often face economic and cultural barriers in the host
country.
On the other hand, Professora Maria Neto of the ESEnfC considers that
this is an «extremely important issue» and states that language difficulties
(not understanding and not being understood) condition the access of immigrant
women to health services. Thus, this justifies the dedication to this
«high-risk group».
For example, this Professor explains that «Eastern European, African and
Asian women, during pregnancy, and namely during delivery, have different
perceptions regarding birth and baby care, which are aggravated by the
difficulty to communicate, compromising the provision of culturally sensitive
care».
«In order for no one to feel an alien in our society, we need to
exercise our citizenship and promote Human Rights. With an increase of the
migratory phenomena – in number and diversity – it is essential that immigrant
women, and men, feel welcome», states Professora Maria Neto. She concludes by
saying that 2008 is the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue and, therefore,
it is an opportunity to «optimise the diversity of cultures and people in our
community».
The project “Gender, Health and Immigration” applied for funding through
the QREN (Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional - National Strategic
Reference Framework).
