Displacement and tuberculosis: recognition in nursing care

Abstract

Through a qualitative of study of public health nurses and their clients in Toronto, Canada, displacement is described as a central feature in illness and care. Specifically, how client experiences are anchored in circumstances of international migration and contagiousness is described, along with how nurses take up understandings of displacement as part of their daily work through diminishing the social displacement of immigration, connecting here and there, and minimizing the displacement of contagiousness. The research illustrates how responding to the implacing and displacing elements of the illness experience and broader lifecourse can be an important part of professional practice. Moreover it highlights how place sensitive geographical inquiry is insightful with respect to understanding the interplay between illness, wellbeing, and health care work.