Project properties

Title International medical travel
Group Cultural Geography Group
Project type thesis
Credits 36 (MSc)
Supervisor(s) Meghann Ormond
Examiner(s) Prof. dr Edward Huijbens
Contact info GEO thesis contact person Chih-Chen Trista Lin: chihchentrista.lin@wur.nl
Begin date 2020/01/01
End date 2022/12/31
Description It’s called ‘medical tourism’ by some and ‘medical exile’ by others, depending on the political orientation, location and financial stakes of who’s talking... Whatever we choose to call it, however, what we do know is this: more people than ever before are crossing international borders in pursuit of high-quality, affordable medical care and long-term care that they (believe that they) are not able to access in their usual countries of residence. While we are beginning to learn more about the nature of these health-focused cross- border flows (e.g. most international medical travel occurs between neighbouring countries in the Global South and, though the media suggests otherwise, not by Global Northerners seeking ‘First World care at Third World prices’), we still know very little about the impacts of international medical travel on medical travellers’ source and destination countries, cities and communities. Thesis projects related to this theme will explore the relationship between how people address their individual health needs and wants, transformations in social and healthcare systems in source and destination countries, and the blurry spectrum between tourism and migration.
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