Materializing the international migrant health policy in health sciences curricula in Chile

Highlights Three categories were identified based on the settings in which students develop during their training: Health Institution Setting, University Institution Setting, and Degree Program Setting. Various facilitators and hindrances to materializing the PSMI were identified across these settings. There are more hindrances than facilitators in health sciences professional education, resulting in an ethnocentric professional training validated by ethnocentric healthcare practices. The interrelationships between facilitators and hindrances gives rise to “cultural blinders” within the health structure, preventing the materialization of the PSMI in health sciences curricula. Introduction: In Chile, the International Migrant Health Policy (PSMI in Spanish) mandates the inclusion of topics such as migration, interculturality, human rights, social determinants of health, and gender in higher education curricula. However, it is unknown whether this effectively happens. Objective: To understand the materialization of the PSMI in health sciences curricula. Materials and Methods: This interpretative/hermeneutic study included semi-structured interviews with program directors, academic faculty, clinical professors, and students. It also involved a document analysis across different health sciences degree programs at three regional universities in Chile. Data analysis included open, axial, and selective coding with ATLAS.ti version 24. Results: A total of 179 informants participated. Three main categories emerged: Health Institution Setting, University Institution Setting, and Degree Program Setting, each comprising facilitating or hindering subcategories for materializing policy materialization. The hermeneutic analysis made it possible to interrelate these subcategories, producing a semantic network to understand the phenomenon. Facilitators were scarce and isolated from the network core, while hindrances were more numerous, cohesive, and robust, reinforcing an ethnocentric model of professional education validated by ethnocentric healthcare practices in clinical settings. Discussion: The concept of “cultural blinders” is proposed in place of “cultural blindness” as there is awareness of the cultural influences on healthcare that are nonetheless not integrated. Conclusions: Current curricula do not align with the PSMI. Coordinated policies between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health are imperative to reverse the existing healthcare status quo. How to cite this article: Álvarez-Cruces Debbie, Nocetti-de-la-Barra Alejandra, Mansilla-Sepúlveda Juan. Materializing the international migrant health policy in health sciences curricula in Chile. Revista Cuidarte. 2025;16(2):e4435. https://doi.org/10.15649/cuidarte.4435