In transit in focus groups: reflections at the edge of an experience

Immigration phenomena are a current reality, full of implications that need to be considered. In health care, treatment is an important area in which to evaluate and investigate the effects and characteristics of growing multiculturalism. It is here that over the last few years the concepts of health, illness and treatment were explored in samples of users. Thus, it was possible to highlight the potential dissimilarity of these concepts in different cultures. Currently however, the massive arrival of individuals from other backgrounds - especially nurses - leads the actual health professionals to work in teams that are not only interdisciplinary but very often multi-cultural, as well. Thus, immigrants should not only be seen as users of public health services, but also as integral parts of the health system to which they belong. A qualitative research - to which this paper refers - was conducted in reply to renewed interest in the differences existing in professional caregivers both in terms of health and illness representation, and also in the way in which different cultural groups mean to provide "treatment".

Keywords: Immigrants, helping professions, representations, health, illness, focus group

Patrizia Velotti, Cecilia Serena Pace, Valentina Patti, Giulio Cesare Zavattini, Del transitare nel <i>focus group</i>: riflessioni a margine di un’esperienza in "GRUPPI" 2/2010, pp 105-118, DOI: 10.3280/GRU2010-002008