Sosyal Bilimler ve Sağlık Bülteni

Özgün Makale

No. 14 (2025)

Social Positionings of International Migrants in Response to Barriers to Medication Access: Disengagement, Resistance, and Adaptation

Submitted
April 22, 2025
Published
2025-05-28

Abstract

Access to medicine among international migrants is a critical yet frequently overlooked aspect within both the fields of health and migration studies. This study presents the findings of a qualitative research project conducted in Eskişehir and supported by Anadolu University BAP commision (2302E007). The aim of the study is to explore the social responses of migrants from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and Syria residing in Turkey when they encounter barriers to accessing medication. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 37 participants and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that migrant participants adopt three main stances when unable to access medicine: disengagement, resistance, and adaptation. Disengagement refers to migrants distancing themselves from the formal healthcare system and resorting to traditional remedies or discontinuing treatment when access to medication is interrupted. Resistance is characterized by rejecting the exclusionary healthcare system, persisting in the use of pre-migration medications, or independently selecting medicine via the internet, thus actively asserting agency in their own treatment process. Adaptation involves informal strategies to navigate the system, such as obtaining medicine through others’ insurance or incurring debt, without entirely excluding the formal healthcare structure. This study demonstrates that access to medicine is not only a matter of health rights but is also intertwined with issues of social justice, citizenship, identity, and human dignity. The social positions and strategies developed by migrants should be understood as tactical survival responses shaped by vital necessities, underscoring the need for health rights to be made equally accessible, sustainable, and inclusive for all.

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