BMC Health Services Research
Volume 17, Issue 1, 2017

Explaining culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) parents’ access of healthcare services for developmental surveillance and anticipatory guidance: qualitative findings from the ‘Watch Me Grow’ study (Article) (Open Access)

Garg P. , Ha M.T. , Eastwood J. , Harvey S. , Woolfenden S. , Murphy E. , Dissanayake C. , Jalaludin B. , Williams K. , McKenzie A. , Einfeld S. , Silove N. , Short K. , Eapen V.*
  • a Department of Community Paediatrics, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, Australia, School of Women’s and Children’s Health, UNSW, Liverpool, Australia, School of Medicine, University of Sydney, Westmead, Australia, Ingham Institute of Applied Medicine, Liverpool, Australia
  • b University of Western Sydney, Penrith, NSW, Australia
  • c School of Women’s and Children’s Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia, Ingham Institute of Applied Medicine, Liverpool, Australia, School of Medicine, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia, Syney Local Health District, Croydon, NSW, Australia
  • d School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffiths University, Queensland, Australia
  • e Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (Randwick), UNSW, Sydney, Australia
  • f NSW Ministry of Health, Sydney, Australia
  • g Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
  • h South Western Sydney Local Health District, UNSW, Sydney, Australia
  • i Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne and University of Melbourne, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
  • j Primary and Community Health, Child, Youth and Family, Child and Family Health Nursing, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia
  • k Centre for Disability Research and Policy, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  • l Children’s Hospital at Westmead, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  • m Liverpool Hospital, South Western Sydney LHD, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  • n UNSW, South Western Sydney LHD, Ingham Institute of Applied Medicine, Liverpool, Australia, Infant Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Academic Unit of Child Psychiatry, South West Sydney LHD, ICAMHS, Mental Health Centre, University of New South Wales, Liverpool Hospital, L1, Elizabeth Street, Liverpool, Sydney, NSW 2170, Australia

Abstract

Background: Regular health visits for parents with young children provide an opportunity for developmental surveillance and anticipatory guidance regarding common childhood problems and help to achieve optimal developmental progress prior to school entry. However, there are few published reports from Australian culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities exploring parents’ experiences for accessing child health surveillance programs. This paper aims to describe and explain parental experiences for accessing developmental surveillance and anticipatory guidance for children. Methods: Qualitative data was obtained from 6 focus groups (33 parents) and seven in-depth interviews of CALD parents recruited from an area of relative disadvantage in Sydney. Thematic analysis of data was conducted using an ecological framework. Results: An overarching theme of “awareness-beliefs-choices” was found to explain parents’ experiences of accessing primary health care services for children. “Awareness” situated within the meso-and macro-systems explained parents knowledge of where and what primary health services were available to access for their children. Opportunities for families to obtain this information existed at the time of birth in Australian hospitals, but for newly arrived immigrants with young children, community linkages with family and friends, and general practitioner (GPs) were most important. “Beliefs” situated within the microsystems included parents’ understanding of their children’s development, in particular what they considered to be “normal” or “abnormal”. Parental “choices”, situated within meso-systems and chronosystems, related to their choices of service providers, which were based on the proximity, continuity, purpose of visit, language spoken by the provider and past experience of a service. Conclusions: CALD parents have diverse experiences with primary health care providers which are influenced by their awareness of available services in the context of their duration of stay in Australia. The role of the general practitioner, with language concordance, suggests the importance of diversity within the primary care health workforce in this region. There is a need for ongoing cultural competence training of health professionals and provisions need to be made to support frequent use of interpreters at general practices in Australia. © 2017 The Author(s).

Author Keywords

culturally and linguistically diverse Child development Access Ecological framework Health services

Index Keywords

information processing Parents Health Personnel doctor patient relation Cultural Diversity immigrant Australia Community Health Services community care health care personnel human friend statistics and numerical data general practitioner language Cultural Competency cultural competence interview Humans migrant parent Emigrants and Immigrants female Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics New South Wales standards organization and management thematic analysis awareness human experiment child health care Child Health Services Focus Groups Child Development anticipatory guidance Health Services Accessibility primary health care health care delivery Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85016061187&doi=10.1186%2fs12913-017-2143-1&partnerID=40&md5=2c51e6c276c8d6d935a1ee266dd8715c
DOI: 10.1186/s12913-017-2143-1
ISSN: 14726963
Cited by: 5
Original Language: English