Atencion Primaria
Volume 50, Issue 6, 2018, Pages 368-376

How do immigrant women access health services in the Basque Country? Perceptions of health professionals [¿Cómo acceden las mujeres inmigrantes a los servicios sanitarios en el País Vasco? Percepciones de profesionales sanitarias] (Article) (Open Access)

Pérez-Urdiales I.* , Goicolea I.
  • a Departamento de Enfermería I, Facultad de Medicina y Enfermería, Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain
  • b Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

Abstract

Objective: To determine the perception of health professionals working in alternative health centres on the barriers and facilitators in the access by immigrant women to general public health services and sexual and reproductive health in the Basque Country. Location: Basque Country. Design: Analysis of qualitative content based on 11 individual interviews. Participants: Health professionals working in alternative health centres of Primary Care and sexual and reproductive health. Method: Data collection was performed between September and December 2015 in four alternative health centres. After transcription, the units of meaning, codes and categories were identified. Results: Four categories emerged from the analysis, which represented how the characteristics of immigrant women (Tell me how you are and I will tell you how to access), the attitude of the administrative and health staff (“When they are already taken care of”), the functioning of the health system (Inflexible, passive and needs-responsive health system), and health policies (“If you do not meet the requirements, you do not go in. The law is the law”) influence access to health services of immigrant women. Conclusions: This study shows that there are a considerable number of barriers and few facilitators to the access by immigrant women to public health and sexual and reproductive health services in the Basque Country. The alternative health centres were presented as favouring the improvement of the health of the immigrant population and in their access. © 2017

Author Keywords

qualitative research Health services accessibility sexual health immigrant women Alternative health centres Women's health services

Index Keywords

information processing immigrant primary medical care multicenter study health care policy clinical trial Community Health Services community care human health service nursing staff administrative personnel qualitative research health personnel attitude interview Attitude of Health Personnel Reproductive Health Services Humans migrant psychology Emigrants and Immigrants staff Spain female female physician sexual health Basque Country women's health genetic transcription Physicians, Women adult midwife Midwifery Reproductive Health Health Policy health center Health Services Accessibility health care delivery

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85029186162&doi=10.1016%2fj.aprim.2017.05.011&partnerID=40&md5=e820f82c2bbe095242c306fe2f4316c1

DOI: 10.1016/j.aprim.2017.05.011
ISSN: 02126567
Cited by: 1
Original Language: English; Spanish