Mediating proximate care in transnational families in Sweden and the UK: language practices and institutional processes

Capstick, T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5145-7903, Mozetič, K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4693-0329 and Simpson, J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2087-7008 (2025) Mediating proximate care in transnational families in Sweden and the UK: language practices and institutional processes. Population, Space and Place, 31 (2). e70015. ISSN 1544-8452 doi: 10.1002/psp.70015

Abstract/Summary

The paper advances our understanding of care in transnational families by exploring how proximate family members engage in care within two institutional contexts, a school and a hospital. It considers how care processes and outcomes are shaped by the transnational character of families and by the related power dynamics inherent within families and institutions. It does so by studying language and literacy practices that people engage in when they act as language brokers and literacy mediators for family members who are accessing care. Working with two families in the United Kingdom and Sweden, our analysis draws on fieldnotes, interviews with caregivers, and interactional data. We describe the language and literacy practices and interactional events associated with our participants' institutional encounters, relating them to individuals' intersecting positionalities. Analysis demonstrates the ways in which these practices enable them to challenge inequalities inherent in health and educational systems.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/122077
Identification Number/DOI	10.1002/psp.70015
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Literature and Languages > English Language and Applied Linguistics
Publisher	Wiley
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item