Caring for Compatriots during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Professional Practices by Health-Care Workers of Chinese Origin in France
Résumé
This chapter reflects on supporting the health of migrants in the French context, in order to move from an approach focused on “cure” to one prioritizing “care.” In studying the professional practices of Chinese health workers in France during Covid-19, author distinguishes two types of treatment available. The first is what is observed in the French health-care system. Thanks to the medical professionals of Chinese origin who work as hospital practitioners, office-based physicians and therapists, more medical care has been adapted to the needs of the population of Chinese origin. The responses by these medical professionals during an unprecedented health-care crisis revealed the limits of the French health-care system, which does not sufficiently take into account the specific needs of foreign patients, particularly those who are vulnerable based on their language, culture, and socioeconomic status. Second, author examines the Chinese ethnic care networks, which developed on the margins of the French health-care system. For example, e-health monitoring (in Western medicine or Chinese medicine) in Chinese on WeChat was created by the Chinese health professionals living in France and Chinese-language webinars were held with the goal of spreading knowledge about Covid-19 among Chinese overseas. The two kinds of treatment were complementary for keeping migrants healthy during Covid-19. At this unprecedented moment in a health crisis, the response to Covid-19 opened up the possibilities for co-constructing intersectoral systems of action (particularly between medical professionals and social welfare actors) and of collaborating between the clinical Western medicine approach and the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) approach, with regard to creating more equal access to health care, while questioning the long-term feasibility of these changes.
Domaines
Sciences de l'Homme et SociétéOrigine | Accord explicite pour ce dépôt |
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