Religion, Medicine, and Health Decision-Making among Ghanaian Immigrants in the United States.

Research on religion and health has shown that religious beliefs and practices are associated with both positive health outcomes and, in some cases, delays in seeking medical care. This study examines how Ghanaian immigrants in the United States draw on religion and medicine to interpret health and make health-related decisions after migration to a context where medical authority is institutionally dominant. Drawing on in-depth interviews with seventy Ghanaian immigrants and participant observation in Ghanaian churches in Houston, the study will analyze narratives about illness, healing, and medical authority across physical and mental health domains. By foregrounding religion as an interpretive framework, the study contributes to scholarship on religion, health, and migration and highlights how immigrant congregations shape approaches to health, healing, and care.