This article examines Argentine immigrants' reliance on informal networks of care that enable their access to a variety of health providers in New York City (NYC). These providers range from health brokers (doctors known on a personal basis) to urban shamans, including folk healers and fortunetellers of various disciplines. A conceptual framework, based on analysis of social capital categories, is proposed for the examination of immigrants' access to valuable health resources, which are based on relationships of reciprocity and trust among parties. Results revealed immigrants' diverse patterns of health-seeking practices, most importantly their reliance on health brokers, epitomized by Argentine and Latino doctors who provide informal health assistance on the basis of sharing immigrants' social fields and ethnic interests. While mental health providers constitute a health resource shared by Argentines' social webs, urban shamans represent a trigger for the activation of women's emotional support webs. Contrary to the familiar assumption that dense and homogenous networks are more beneficial to their members, this article underscores the advantages of heterogeneous and fluid social webs that connect immigrants to a variety of resources, including referrals to diverse health practitioners. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

immigrants Social networks Mental health Argentines Shamanism Folk healing Brokers Latinos in the US Social capital

Argentina psychological aspect methodology human sex difference Shamanism social support alternative medicine ethnology Mental Disorders mental disease United States Humans traditional medicine Medicine, Traditional Emigrants and Immigrants patient referral Referral and Consultation Article migration New York City Sex Factors patient attitude Patient Acceptance of Health Care psychiatry Delivery of Health Care Health Services Accessibility health care delivery