A Focused Ethnography of Indigenous Women Accessing Healthcare Services in Northern and Rural Thailand

• Author / Creator

  Thummapol, Onouma

• There is far ranging evidence indicating that access to healthcare services is not equitable in Thailand, particularly among disadvantaged populations like Indigenous women. What has yet to be explored is Indigenous women’s access to, and experiences of, the Thai healthcare system. In particular, the impact of multiple intersecting influences and the ways in which these intersecting identities and structural barriers interlock to affect healthcare decisions, and the ability of Indigenous women to obtain the care they need, has not been well documented in the literature. The purpose of this focused ethnographic research study was to explore the
  experiences of Indigenous women’s access to healthcare in northern and rural Thailand, in order to acquire a deeper understanding of the complexity of culture and the effects of multiple intersecting influences, including structural forces, on a given phenomenon. Findings suggest that many if not most Indigenous women experience difficulties and
  challenges accessing healthcare, which occurred both at the individual and structural levels. The impact of influences within the context of the women’s lives—gender norms and roles, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, citizenship, rural geography, cultural discrimination and insensitivity, and previous negative experiences with the healthcare system – was understood as intersecting and shaping women’s decisions to seek healthcare in ways that deterred access. Given the magnitude of the issue and of the unique difficulties and challenges in accessing equitable healthcare reported by women in this study, the recommended policy, practice,
  education, and research directions and strategies set forth in this study will affect change and give voice to this undeserved population.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Hill tribes
  • Human rights
  • Access to healthcare
  • Ethnic minorities
  • Gender equality
  • Healthcare services
  • Northern Rural Thailand
  • Indigenous women

• Graduation date

  Fall 2018

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3VM43D1F

• License

  Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.