Resumen de The Law of the State against the Law of Nurses: a study on the access to and utilization of health and social services by undocumented immigrant women in Spain
OBJECTIVE. To explore the access to and utilization of health and social services by immigrant undocumented women in Spain from the perspective of several actors. METHODOLOGY. A systematic review of scientific literature (Study I); qualitative inquiry involving personal interviews with 7 midwives of a rural area of Segovia (Study II) and 12 immigrant undocumented women working and living in Lleida (Study III); and Critical Discourse Analysis of the Health Law and Ethic Codes of Nurses (Study IV). RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS There is a knowledge gap in scientific literature in Spain regarding access and utilization of social and health services specifically oriented to undocumented immigrant women. Immigrant undocumented women underutilize social and health care services -including the service of midwifery- due to reasons linked to poor working conditions and specific barriers for being immigrant undocumented women. Nurses suffer a mismatch between their ethical and professional commitment and the application of the general law.
