Immigration, Disability and Healthcare Access in Brazil

Abstract

Immigration and refugee status protection are growing phenomena in Brazil and the city of São Paulo is one of the largest hubs in the country for this heterogeneous population. Various studies reveal barriers faced by immigrants and refugees in Brazil to receive quality public healthcare services including linguistic issues, cultural differences, socioeconomic barriers, xenophobia and racism. People with disabilities are another heterogeneous group that encounters barriers in healthcare services in Brazil. Studies reveal that people with disabilities face physical, architectural and ableist attitudinal barriers in healthcare services in the country. This text seeks to highlight the necessity for qualitative research at the intersection of disability, immigration and healthcare in Brazil using international and domestic studies and ethnographic observations of the healthcare experiences of a Bolivian immigrant woman with temporary disabilities and the mother and caregiver of a Bolivian immigrant woman with disabilities in São Paulo, Brazil.