Browsing by Author "Watkins, Loreto"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    From conception to care: a systematic review of the impact of the climate crisis on reproductive justice
    (2025) Yopo Díaz, Martina; Gómez Aguirre, Valentina; Watkins, Loreto
    The climate crisis poses major challenges to reproductive justice. Climate-related events and natural disasters are severely impacting sexual and reproductive rights as well as the ability of individuals to become parents and care for their children. Through a systematic review conducted using the PRISMA method, this article addresses the impact of the climate crisis on the three core principles of reproductive justice: (1) the right not to have a child; (2) the right to have a child; and (3) the right to parent children in safe and healthy environments. While the review found no empirical studies addressing how the climate crisis impacts the right not to have children, the findings suggest that hurricanes, floods, heatwaves, droughts, and coastal erosion are associated with greater intentions of remaining childless and having fewer children, increasing fetal mortality and preterm births, decreasing newborn sex ratios and birth weight, rising birth risks, declining birth rates, and increasing challenges to parenting and childcare. We argue that the climate crisis fundamentally undermines reproductive justice by preventing individuals from fully and equitably exercising their reproductive rights to have children and to parent in safe and sustainable environments. In doing so, we stress that the climate crisis should be considered when addressing the challenges of reproductive justice and that addressing these challenges requires implementing policies that not only seek to mitigate the effects of climate disruptions, but also strengthen the capacity of individuals and communities to adapt to changing environmental conditions, ensuring more sustainable reproductive futures.
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    Health, migration, and the climate crisis: an exploratory qualitative study in an informal settlement in Santiago, Chile
    (2025) Watkins, Loreto; Blanco, Estela; Barraza, Javiera; Díaz de León, Alejandra; Pérez, Miguel; Rocha-Jiménez, Teresita
    Migrants in urban areas of developing countries are among the most vulnerable populations to the impacts of the climate crisis. Already facing structural inequities, migrants must cope with limited access to stable housing, essential services, and climate-resilient infrastructure. In this paper, we explore the intersections of health, migration, and the climate crisis through an exploratory qualitative study conducted in Un Nuevo Amanecer, an informal urban settlement in Santiago, Chile. This approach, involving 21 migrant residents, examined health vulnerabilities and community strategies in response to climate crisis conditions. We addressed the effects of extreme weather events and urban conditions among migrant populations, such as landslides, heat, and cold waves, fires, floods, and air pollution. The settlement’s location on unsafe land and poor infrastructure exacerbates residents’ social and health vulnerabilities, including emerging illnesses, mental health impacts, and limited personal resources and institutional support to cope with climate events like fires and extreme weather. Our findings highlight the crucial role of urban environments in promoting health, well-being, and resilience, while also guiding the development of more effective strategies to address the challenges of the climate crisis in vulnerable migrant populations
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    Más allá de la fisiología: Aportes de la antropología médica a la comprensión del cáncer en Chile
    (2025) Bowen Silva, Sofia; Watkins, Loreto
    La antropología médica comprende el cáncer como un complejo fenómeno multidimensional que involucra elementos subjetivos, sociales, políticos, económicos y culturales. En Chile, el cáncer se reconoce como un desafío sanitario y poblacional prioritario que requiere un enfoque interdisciplinario e integral. Sin embargo, las dimensiones socioculturales de la enfermedad han recibido escasa atención en la investigación y las políticas públicas del país. A partir de una revisión de literatura internacional y de la incipiente investigación cualitativa y etnográfica sobre cáncer en Chile, este artículo explora los aportes de la antropología al estudio del cáncer identificando tres líneas analíticas clave para el desarrollo de la investigación social en este ámbito. El planteamiento analítico propuesto busca contribuir tanto a la articulación y el posicionamiento del debate académico local como a la mejora de las políticas y la atención de la salud oncológica en el país.