Objectives: This study investigated the medical treatment of migrant workers with tuberculosis. The aim was to determine if this vulnerable group still had barriers in accessing medical care resources. Methods: Adopting a qualitative research design, this study used purposive sampling to conduct in-depth interviews with nine migrant workers infected with tuberculosis and one tuberculosis case manager. Data collected from these interviews and participant observation were analyzed qualitatively. Results: Four factors were found to influence the migrant workers' access to medical resources: constraints of current related policies, cultural and communicative barriers, job mediators' and employers' lack of medical knowledge, and the tactics of medical personnel. Conclusions: This study recommended that (1) related government departments propose projects to empower medical personnel and improve their cultural competence; (2) hospitals cooperate with civil organizations to provide different resources to solve the health problem of migrant workers; (3) the government reinforce cross-departmental communication to create a better medical treatment environment for migrant workers. © 2018 Chinese Public Health Association of Taiwan. All rights reserved.

health inequality tuberculosis Migrant workers Empowerment in medical care Quarantine

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