Importance of social context in understanding and promoting low-income immigrant women's health

Understanding the social context and realities of low-income immigrant women is important to promote their overall health and well-being more effectively. The aim of this study was to gain a contextual understanding from the perspectives of community health promoters who work with immigrant women. Using a Glaserian grounded theory approach, six salient themes describing women's social context emerged: community and domestic violence, loss and isolation, economic injustice, immigration-related issues and abuse, unequal gender-based power relations, and cultural taboos. These findings challenge health researchers and practitioners to understand health problems and health promotion not only at an individual level, but at multiple levels of infuence including interpersonal, family, neighborhood, and structural levels.