Migrant Men Living in Brazil during the Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Jan 18;21(1):109. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21010109.

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the repercussions of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the health of male immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in Brazil. A qualitative study involving 307 adult men living in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted. Data were collected between August 2021 and March 2022 and interpreted based on the Transcultural Nursing Theory. Cultural care repercussions were identified in various dimensions: technological: changes in daily life and disruptions in routine; religious, philosophical, social, and cultural values: changes stemming from disrupted social bonds, religious practices, and sociocultural isolation; political: experiences of political partisanship, conflicts, government mismanagement, a lack of immigration policies, human rights violations, and xenophobia; educational/economic: challenges arising from economic impoverishment, economic insecurity, unemployment, language difficulties, and challenges in academic and literacy development during the pandemic. The persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil had significant repercussions for the health of migrant men, resulting in a transcultural phenomenon that requires sensitive nursing care. Implications for nursing: the uniqueness of cultural care in nursing and health, as most of the repercussions found were mostly negative, contributed to the increase in social and health vulnerabilities.

Keywords: COVID-19; Transcultural Nursing; human migration; men’s health.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • Culturally Competent Care
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pandemics*
  • Qualitative Research

Grants and funding

This study received no external funding.