Johnson Joy L, Bottorff Joan L, Browne Annette J, Grewal Sukhdev, Hilton B Ann, Clarke Heather
School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Canada.
Health Commun. 2004;16(2):255-71. doi: 10.1207/S15327027HC1602_7.
Othering is a process that identifies those that are thought to be different from oneself or the mainstream, and it can reinforce and reproduce positions of domination and subordination. Although there are theoretical and conceptual treatments of othering in the literature, researchers lack sufficient examples of othering practices that influence the interactions between patients and health care providers. The purpose of this study was to explore the interactions between health care providers and South Asian immigrant women to describe othering practices and their effects. Ethnographic methods were used involving in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The analysis entailed identifying uses of othering and exploring the dynamics through which this process took place. Women shared stories of how discriminatory treatment was experienced. The interviews with health care professionals provided examples of how views of South Asian women shaped the way health care services were provided. Three forms of othering were found in informants' descriptions of their problematic health care encounters: essentializing explanations, culturalist explanations, and racializing explanations. Women's stories illustrated ways of coping and managing othering experiences. The analysis also revealed how individual interactions are influenced by the social and institutional contexts that create conditions for othering practices. To foster safe and effective health care interactions, those in power must continue to unmask othering practices and transform health care environments to support truly equitable health care.
他者化是一个识别那些被认为与自己或主流不同的人的过程，它会强化和再现支配与从属的地位。尽管文献中有关于他者化的理论和概念论述，但研究人员缺乏足够的他者化实践例子来影响患者与医疗服务提供者之间的互动。本研究的目的是探讨医疗服务提供者与南亚移民女性之间的互动，以描述他者化实践及其影响。采用了民族志方法，包括深入访谈和焦点小组讨论。分析包括识别他者化的用途，并探索这一过程发生的动态机制。女性分享了她们遭遇歧视性待遇的故事。对医疗专业人员的访谈提供了一些例子，说明对南亚女性的看法如何塑造了医疗服务的提供方式。在受访者对有问题的医疗遭遇的描述中发现了三种他者化形式：本质化解释、文化主义解释和种族化解释。女性的故事说明了应对和处理他者化经历的方式。分析还揭示了个体互动如何受到为他者化实践创造条件的社会和制度背景的影响。为了促进安全有效的医疗互动，当权者必须继续揭露他者化实践，并改变医疗环境，以支持真正公平的医疗服务。
