Immigration, Health and Diversity Management: Preliminary Developments of a Project in Neighborhoods of Catalonia

This article presents an ongoing research project on immigration, health, and socio-cultural diversity, and offers preliminary information on the theoretical and socio-demographic context of this investigation. The objective of the project, funded by the Department of Health of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, Spain, is to analyse the socioeconomic and cultural factors involved in health and the access to the formal health system of a few major migrant communities and ethnic minorities living in high-priority neighborhoods in Catalonia. The results of this project, which will come fundamentally from ethnographic research, aim to give suggestions for improving health conditions for the population and to provide to those professionals working in the public health care system with some conceptual and practical tools for improving intercultural communication between themselves and their patients, as well as for detecting, preventing, and resolving problems in everyday practice.