Children seeking health care: International perspectives on children’s use of mobility to obtain health services

This chapter provides a contemporary overview of research on children and young people’s use of mobility to obtain health services. By conceptualizing mobility as a social practice, the chapter highlights the importance of understanding the subjective qualities of being mobile, manifested through the lived experiences of children (and their families) who need to seek medical services away from home. Using examples from Kenya, Ghana, the US, and Argentina, this chapter shows how concepts such as “micro-mobility” and “vulnerable mobility” can be used to understand the internal and everyday dynamics of children’s and young people’s health-seeking behaviors without disregarding the structural (often internationalized) forces that shape their movements. In this manner, child movement is acknowledged on a global scale yet rooted in local realities. The chapter ends with a short research agenda where future streams of multidisciplinary and applied work are proposed.