BMC Public Health
Volume 11, 2011

Health care for immigrants in Europe: Is there still consensus among country experts about principles of good practice? A Delphi study (Article) (Open Access)

Devillé W.* , Greacen T. , Bogic M. , Dauvrin M. , Dias S. , Gaddini A. , Jensen N. , Karamanidou C. , Kluge U. , Mertaniemi R. , I Riera R. , Sárváry A. , Soares J.J.F. , Stankunas M. , Straßmayr C. , Welbel M. , Priebe S.
  • a International and Migrant Health, NIVEL (Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research), Otterstraat 118-124, 3500 BN Utrecht, Netherlands, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Institute of Social Sciences Research, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • b Etablissement Public de Santé Maison Blanche, 18 rue Rémy de Gourmont, 75019 Paris, France
  • c Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London, Newham Centre for Mental Health, London, E13 8SP, United Kingdom
  • d Institute of Health and Society, Université Catholique de Louvain, Clos Chapelle aux Champs 30.05., 1200 Brussels, Belgium
  • e Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Rua da Junqueira, 96, 1349-008 Lisbon, Portugal
  • f Laziosanit ASP-Public Health Agency for the Lazio Region, Via S. Costanza 53, 00198 Rome, Italy
  • g Department of Public Health, Danish Research Centre for Migration Ethnicity and Health (MESU), University of Copenhagen, ster Farimagsgade 5, DK-1014 Copenhagen, Denmark
  • h Department of Sociology, National School of Public Health, 196 Alexandras Avenue, Athens 11521, Greece
  • i Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité-University Medicine Berlin, CCM, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
  • j National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Department for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, P.O.B. 30, FIN-00271 Helsinki, Finland
  • k Agency of Public Health of Barcelona, Pça. Lesseps, 1, 08023 Barcelona, Spain
  • l Faculty of Health Sciences at Nyíregyháza, University of Debrecen, Sástái út 31/B, 4400 Nyíregyháza, Hungary
  • m Department of Public Health Sciences, Section of Social Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden, Department of Public Health Sciences, Mid Sweden University, SE-851 70 Sundsvall, Sweden
  • n Department of Health Management, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, A. Mickeviiaus g. 9, LT 44307, Kaunas, Lithuania
  • o Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Social Psychiatry, Lazarettgasse 14A-912, 1090 Vienna, Austria
  • p Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Ul. Sobieskiego 9, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland
  • q Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London, Newham Centre for Mental Health, London, E13 8SP, United Kingdom

Abstract

Background: European Member States are facing a challenge to provide accessible and effective health care services for immigrants. It remains unclear how best to achieve this and what characterises good practice in increasingly multicultural societies across Europe. This study assessed the views and values of professionals working in different health care contexts and in different European countries as to what constitutes good practice in health care for immigrants. Methods. A total of 134 experts in 16 EU Member States participated in a three-round Delphi process. The experts represented four different fields: academia, Non-Governmental Organisations, policy-making and health care practice. For each country, the process aimed to produce a national consensus list of the most important factors characterising good practice in health care for migrants. Results: The scoring procedures resulted in 10 to 16 factors being identified as the most important for each participating country. All 186 factors were aggregated into 9 themes: (1) easy and equal access to health care, (2) empowerment of migrants, (3) culturally sensitive health care services, (4) quality of care, (5) patient/health care provider communication, (6) respect towards migrants, (7) networking in and outside health services, (8) targeted outreach activities, and (9) availability of data about specificities in migrant health care and prevention. Although local political debate, level of immigration and the nature of local health care systems influenced the selection and rating of factors within each country, there was a broad European consensus on most factors. Yet, discordance remained both within countries, e.g. on the need for prioritising cultural differences, and between countries, e.g. on the need for more consistent governance of health care services for immigrants. Conclusions: Experts across Europe asserted the right to culturally sensitive health care for all immigrants. There is a broad consensus among experts about the major principles of good practice that need to be implemented across Europe. However, there also is some disagreement both within and between countries on specific issues that require further research and debate. © 2011 Devillé et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

consensus Emigrants and Immigrants human management Delivery of Health Care Delphi Technique Europe Article health personnel attitude Delphi study Attitude of Health Personnel policy making organization and management Health Services Accessibility Humans migration health care delivery
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-80052679507&doi=10.1186%2f1471-2458-11-699&partnerID=40&md5=d41daa4a7aeaae7e2766e8714313e56a
DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-699
ISSN: 14712458
Cited by: 52
Original Language: English