‘What if I get sick?’ Healthcare (non)decisions of overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan

Isaiah Christian Felix Antonio and Po-Han Lee

Social Science & Medicine, 2024, vol. 358, issue C

Abstract: The increasing presence of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan, particularly in the electronics and technology (E&T) industry, has raised concerns about their health and health-seeking behaviours. Our study draws on a theoretical framework combining Brandenberger et al.’s 3C model, which considers challenges in communication, continuity of care, and confidence regarding healthcare delivery for migrant workers, with Scott’s sociology of nothing. This framework enables us to interpret the decisions of OFWs on seeking care, not seeking care, or not making any decision. Although the National Health Insurance covers migrant workers and the New South Bound Policy commits to promoting migrant health, narrative accounts of individual workers, migrant rights advocates, and shelter organisers inform us of OFWs’ ambivalence towards utilising the healthcare resources available. The decisions made by OFWs in the E&T industry may include seeking assistance, not seeking assistance, or not addressing health concerns due to legal, financial, or cultural reasons. The contextual nuances behind their decisions led us to look beyond the challenges they face and argue for interventions such as peer education on legal rights awareness and health literacy to enable OFWs to make informed decisions about their well-being.

Keywords: 3C (communication; Continuity of care; and confidence); Health behaviours; Migrant workers; Overseas Filipino workers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117268

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