In my current research I employ a Foucauldian discourse analysis methodology to examine the ways in which newcomers to Canada deal with a diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) during the process of migration and settlement, and how that constructs them as specific subjects. I apply a governmentality framework to interrogate two crucial intersections: (a) the intersection of the process of immigration and medicalization, which creates a unique system of power relations that act at the site of the immigrant’s body; and (b) the intersection of individuals and institutions as mediated by professionals, which shapes both the process and settlement experience of newcomers. The objective of this study thus examines how power relations operate in different institutional contexts, specifically through the process of Canadian immigration and immigration medical examination. Address: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
This dissertation critically examines the experiences of new Canadian immigrants and immigration ... more This dissertation critically examines the experiences of new Canadian immigrants and immigration applicants undergoing immigration TB health screening and surveillance, and focuses on the social effects of this process on the health and wellbeing of newcomers. Using Foucault’s theoretical framework of governmentality, this study seeks to understand how various knowledges about health and the immigrant body are (re)produced through the articulation of immigration, public health, and biomedical discourses, and how these regimes of knowledge and power constitute social relations and structure the daily reality of newcomers to Canada. The first purpose of this study was to document the ways in which ‘medicalization’ of the immigration process shaped the migratory journeys (i.e. constrained and enabled possibilities for action) of immigration applicants. The second objective was to understand how these overlapping discourses created rationalities of governance to construct and regulate i...
The Canadian journal of nursing research = Revue canadienne de recherche en sciences infirmières, 2012
Tuberculosis is a pressing global health issue. Its association with other infections, illnesses,... more Tuberculosis is a pressing global health issue. Its association with other infections, illnesses, and social factors, including immigration, is well known, yet comparatively little research has examined the connections between tuberculosis and mental disorder, particularly among immigrants in Canada. The authors report on a scoping review conducted to better understand the synergies of tuberculosis, mental disorders, and underlying social conditions as they affect immigrants' health. They highlight the articles that focused on the co-occurrence of tuberculosis and depression/anxiety. After describing their approach and strategy, the authors present key thematic categories: prevalence, clinical presentation, and effects of stigma and poverty. Examining the research within the global context, they argue that migration contributes to these synergistic conditions. The review shows that Canadians stand to gain much by learning from low- and middle-income countries about what constitu...
Existing historical research on population health in Hamilton, Ontario concentrates on the past 6... more Existing historical research on population health in Hamilton, Ontario concentrates on the past 60 years and the beginning of the twentieth century, leaving an unexplored gap between 1919 and the 1950s. Additionally, few health studies focus on the impacts of economic levels on child and infant wellbeing particularly in the early 1900s. This thesis investigates the impact of the economic
International Review of Qualitative Research, 2018
In this article, we discuss our experiences learning how to do Foucauldian discourse analysis as ... more In this article, we discuss our experiences learning how to do Foucauldian discourse analysis as doctoral students situated in a school of public health. We mobilize language of “learning through doing” as we reflect on the struggles of conducting doctoral dissertation research. While challenging, these struggles have been productive because they have resulted in epistemological shifts. We explore the following pivotal learning moments that have been central to producing changes in our epistemological positions: (1) realizing there are no predetermined methodological templates, (2) letting go of positivist notions of bias and representativeness, (3) recognizing the iterative nature of the qualitative research process, and (4) experiencing the centrality of writing to qualitative inquiry. Our article recognizes the profound relevance of “doing” within the process of learning critical and interpretive approaches to qualitative research and in unlearning positivist ideas about the prod...
The Canadian journal of nursing research = Revue canadienne de recherche en sciences infirmières
Tuberculosis is a pressing global health issue. Its association with other infections, illnesses,... more Tuberculosis is a pressing global health issue. Its association with other infections, illnesses, and social factors, including immigration, is well known, yet comparatively little research has examined the connections between tuberculosis and mental disorder, particularly among immigrants in Canada. The authors report on a scoping review conducted to better understand the synergies of tuberculosis, mental disorders, and underlying social conditions as they affect immigrants' health. They highlight the articles that focused on the co-occurrence of tuberculosis and depression/anxiety. After describing their approach and strategy, the authors present key thematic categories: prevalence, clinical presentation, and effects of stigma and poverty. Examining the research within the global context, they argue that migration contributes to these synergistic conditions. The review shows that Canadians stand to gain much by learning from low- and middle-income countries about what constitu...
This dissertation critically examines the experiences of new Canadian immigrants and immigration ... more This dissertation critically examines the experiences of new Canadian immigrants and immigration applicants undergoing immigration TB health screening and surveillance, and focuses on the social effects of this process on the health and wellbeing of newcomers. Using Foucault’s theoretical framework of governmentality, this study seeks to understand how various knowledges about health and the immigrant body are (re)produced through the articulation of immigration, public health, and biomedical discourses, and how these regimes of knowledge and power constitute social relations and structure the daily reality of newcomers to Canada. The first purpose of this study was to document the ways in which ‘medicalization’ of the immigration process shaped the migratory journeys (i.e. constrained and enabled possibilities for action) of immigration applicants. The second objective was to understand how these overlapping discourses created rationalities of governance to construct and regulate i...
The Canadian journal of nursing research = Revue canadienne de recherche en sciences infirmières, 2012
Tuberculosis is a pressing global health issue. Its association with other infections, illnesses,... more Tuberculosis is a pressing global health issue. Its association with other infections, illnesses, and social factors, including immigration, is well known, yet comparatively little research has examined the connections between tuberculosis and mental disorder, particularly among immigrants in Canada. The authors report on a scoping review conducted to better understand the synergies of tuberculosis, mental disorders, and underlying social conditions as they affect immigrants' health. They highlight the articles that focused on the co-occurrence of tuberculosis and depression/anxiety. After describing their approach and strategy, the authors present key thematic categories: prevalence, clinical presentation, and effects of stigma and poverty. Examining the research within the global context, they argue that migration contributes to these synergistic conditions. The review shows that Canadians stand to gain much by learning from low- and middle-income countries about what constitu...
Existing historical research on population health in Hamilton, Ontario concentrates on the past 6... more Existing historical research on population health in Hamilton, Ontario concentrates on the past 60 years and the beginning of the twentieth century, leaving an unexplored gap between 1919 and the 1950s. Additionally, few health studies focus on the impacts of economic levels on child and infant wellbeing particularly in the early 1900s. This thesis investigates the impact of the economic
International Review of Qualitative Research, 2018
In this article, we discuss our experiences learning how to do Foucauldian discourse analysis as ... more In this article, we discuss our experiences learning how to do Foucauldian discourse analysis as doctoral students situated in a school of public health. We mobilize language of “learning through doing” as we reflect on the struggles of conducting doctoral dissertation research. While challenging, these struggles have been productive because they have resulted in epistemological shifts. We explore the following pivotal learning moments that have been central to producing changes in our epistemological positions: (1) realizing there are no predetermined methodological templates, (2) letting go of positivist notions of bias and representativeness, (3) recognizing the iterative nature of the qualitative research process, and (4) experiencing the centrality of writing to qualitative inquiry. Our article recognizes the profound relevance of “doing” within the process of learning critical and interpretive approaches to qualitative research and in unlearning positivist ideas about the prod...
The Canadian journal of nursing research = Revue canadienne de recherche en sciences infirmières
Tuberculosis is a pressing global health issue. Its association with other infections, illnesses,... more Tuberculosis is a pressing global health issue. Its association with other infections, illnesses, and social factors, including immigration, is well known, yet comparatively little research has examined the connections between tuberculosis and mental disorder, particularly among immigrants in Canada. The authors report on a scoping review conducted to better understand the synergies of tuberculosis, mental disorders, and underlying social conditions as they affect immigrants' health. They highlight the articles that focused on the co-occurrence of tuberculosis and depression/anxiety. After describing their approach and strategy, the authors present key thematic categories: prevalence, clinical presentation, and effects of stigma and poverty. Examining the research within the global context, they argue that migration contributes to these synergistic conditions. The review shows that Canadians stand to gain much by learning from low- and middle-income countries about what constitu...
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