当前位置： SCI文献检索 > International Journal for Equity in Health期刊下所有文献 > Cultural repertoires and food-related household technology within colonia households under conditions of material hardship.

Cultural repertoires and food-related household technology within colonia households under conditions of material hardship.

Abstract：

UNLABELLED:BSTRACT: INTRODUCTION:Mexican-origin women in the U.S. living in colonias (new-destination Mexican-immigrant communities) along the Texas-Mexico border suffer from a high incidence of food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease. Understanding environmental factors that influence food-related behaviors among this population will be important to improving the well-being of colonia households. This article focuses on cultural repertoires that enable food choice and the everyday uses of technology in food-related practice by Mexican-immigrant women in colonia households under conditions of material hardship. Findings are presented within a conceptual framework informed by concepts drawn from sociological accounts of technology, food choice, culture, and material hardship. METHODS:Field notes were provided by teams of promotora-researchers (indigenous community health workers) and public-health professionals trained as participant observers. They conducted observations on three separate occasions (two half-days during the week and one weekend day) within eight family residences located in colonias near the towns of Alton and San Carlos, Texas. English observations were coded inductively and early observations stressed the importance of technology and material hardship in food-related behavior. These observations were further explored and coded using the qualitative data package Atlas.ti. RESULTS:Technology included kitchen implements used in standard and adapted configurations and household infrastructure. Residents employed tools across a range of food-related activities identified as forms of food acquisition, storage, preparation, serving, feeding and eating, cleaning, and waste processing. Material hardships included the quality, quantity, acceptability, and uncertainty dimensions of food insecurity, and insufficient consumption of housing, clothing and medical care. Cultural repertoires for coping with material hardship included reliance on inexpensive staple foods and dishes, and conventional and innovative technological practices. These repertoires expressed the creative agency of women colonia residents. Food-related practices were constrained by climate, animal and insect pests, women's gender roles, limitations in neighborhood and household infrastructure, and economic and material resources. CONCLUSIONS:This research points to the importance of socioeconomic and structural factors such as gender roles, economic poverty and material hardship as constraints on food choice and food-related behavior. In turn, it emphasizes the innovative practices employed by women residents of colonias to prepare meals under these constraints.

journal_name

Int J Equity Health

journal_title

International journal for equity in health

authors

Dean WR,Sharkey JR,Johnson CM,St John J

doi

10.1186/1475-9276-11-25

subject

Has Abstract

pub_date

2012-05-15 00:00:00

pages

issn

1475-9276

pii

1475-9276-11-25

journal_volume

pub_type

杂志文章

在线工具

Cultural repertoires and food-related household technology within colonia households under conditions of material hardship.