RECIIS – R. Eletr. de Com. Inf. Inov. Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, v5, n.4, p. 44-52, Dec., 2011 [www.reciis.icict.fiocruz.br] e-ISSN 1981-6278 * Original Article The viewpoint of the Cape Verdean Community in Lisbon regarding health and illness 1 Bárbara Bäckström CEMRI, Open University of Portugal, Lisbon barbarab@univ-ab.pt DOI:10.3395/reciis.v5i4.556en Abstract This article is based on a study focusing on sociology in health with a particular focus on the health of immigrants in relation to their representations and practices of health and illness. This article was intended to establish a comparative analysis of the data. The study aims to understand how individuals perceive health, both in general and in their particular cases. A comparative analysis was conducted to highlight the similarities and differences in representations of health or illness. The study was conducted with a sample of 40 first generation Cape Verdean residents in the Lisbon area, who were divided into three subgroups by social group, generation, and gender. We chose a qualitative methodology and used semi-structured interviews to collect information. The results suggest that there are differences between social groups relative to their representations of health and illness. The differences were determined more by socioeconomic factors than by cultural aspects or ethnicity. We found that socio-economic status, more than culture or ethnicity, determines the major differences in perspectives and affects health practices and illnesses when examining a group with the same cultural origins. In general, individuals overestimated their common ethnic identity and cultural origin. These differences have been exemplified in two points of view: cosmopolitan, which is more sophisticated regarding the world and ideas expressed by the elite group; and existential, which is more closely linked to the material conditions of existence and corresponding to the representations made by the popular group. Because they belong to different social groups, people with the same cultural origin and ethnic identity have a shared sense of cultural belonging but not identical behavior and practices. Palavras-chave : Health; representations; immigrants; Social groups Introduction Since the beginning of the 1960's, Portugal has accommodated immigrant populations with very diverse cultural characteristics and distinct immigration trajectories. In recent decades, economic globalization, accelerated urbanization processes, and intensified international migrations have accentuated cultural and ethnic plurality in major urban centers. Despite being far from an "optimal" situation when putting legislation into practice, Portugal is, in theory, a European country with a well- designed policy for integrating immigrants, creating, in practice, conditions that have afforded rights and obligations to foreign citizens since the law in force was first established. The relationship between health and immigration has caused significant concern both nationally and internationally as well as from policy makers and scholars that study the process of integrating immigrants into host regions. Several factors, such as low socio-economic status, poor housing conditions, low income, insecure employment, the psychological stress associated with social exclusion, and the lack of support networks, are related to health and contribute to unfavorable situations for the immigrant. These life circumstances are only a portion of the broader framework in which access to health care is hampered by the lack of information about rights and available services or the lack of sensitivity and knowledge within the health organizations and from health care professionals. These health issues also accompany all of the social and economic problems that are attributed to situations of extreme deprivation and social exclusion. Health has served as a mirror for the entire set of complex and entangled processes that are a consequence of the fragile state in which some immigrants exist. This article aims to analyze the viewpoints and perceptions about health and illness from within the Cape Verdean immigrant community that resides in Metropolitan Lisbon. This research analyzes issues around the health and illness of the immigrants from a sociological perspective, using a methodology for collecting personal reports, within the field of social representations of health.