Fourteenth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Within Luhmann’s systems theory, the concept of “irritation” (or “noise”) refers to exogenic elements that act upon society’s different autopoietic systems (such as economics, law, science, welfare system etc.) without being fully processed by them. Along the same lines, transnational migration is a process which generates encounters between the systems inherent to a nation state and the practices, norms, and values brought about by those who immigrate there. Normatively, these interactions foster mutual understanding and adaptation. Based on interviews with 45 transnational families (90 individuals), in this paper, we seek to understand the interaction between members of these families and the Swedish healthcare system. Interviewees’ perspectives speak of their and the system’s differential norms and values underlying their understandings of health, illness, as well as what healthcare entails. They also render evident multifaceted experiences of unmet expectations and approaches to resolving them beyond the boundaries of the healthcare system, and how these are amplified and enabled by the transnational familial links. By conceptualizing these narratives and experiences as “irritations” according to Luhmann’s systems theory, we argue that these encounters retain a character of perpetual “noise”, instead of being processed by the systems in question. Ultimately, our analysis suggests that these “irritations” seemingly do not contribute to any substantial alteration of the formal healthcare provided by the Swedish state, nor of individuals’ understandings and expectations of healthcare. Rather, they seem to have repercussions for transnational individuals’ trust, fostering a sense of corroded confidence in the healthcare system.