22
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Access to primary health care for asylum seekers and refugees: a qualitative study of service user experiences in the UK

      research-article
      , LLB , MA, MRCP , MRCGP, SFHEA, DTM&H, PGCHE
      The British Journal of General Practice
      Royal College of General Practitioners
      access to health care, asylum seekers, qualitative research, refugees

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Background

          Asylum seekers and refugees (ASR) face difficulty accessing health care in host countries. In 2017, NHS charges for overseas visitors were extended to include some community care for refused asylum seekers. There is growing concern that this will increase access difficulties, but no recent research has documented the lived experiences of ASR accessing UK primary health care.

          Aim

          To examine ASR experiences accessing primary health care in the UK in 2018.

          Design and setting

          This was a qualitative community-based study. ASR were recruited by criterion-based sampling through voluntary community organisations.

          Method

          A total of 18 ASR completed face-to-face semi-structured recorded interviews discussing primary care access. Transcripts underwent thematic analysis by three researchers using Penchansky and Thomas’s modified theory of access.

          Results

          The qualitative data show that participants found primary care services difficult to navigate and negotiate. Dominant themes included language barriers and inadequate interpretation services; lack of awareness of the structure and function of the NHS; difficulty meeting the costs of dental care, prescription fees, and transport to appointments; and the perception of discrimination relating to race, religion, and immigration status.

          Conclusion

          By centralising the voices of ASR and illustrating the negative consequences of poor healthcare access, this article urges consideration of how access to primary care in the UK can be enhanced for often marginalised individuals with complex needs.

          Related collections

          Most cited references37

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: not found
          • Article: not found

          Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color

            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: not found
            • Article: not found

            How Many Interviews Are Enough?: An Experiment with Data Saturation and Variability

              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: not found
              • Article: not found

              The Concept of Access

                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: Medical student
                Role: Geriatric medicine specialist registrar and PhD researcher
                Role: GP and senior clinical lecturer
                Journal
                Br J Gen Pract
                Br J Gen Pract
                bjgp
                The British Journal of General Practice
                Royal College of General Practitioners
                0960-1643
                1478-5242
                August 2019
                12 February 2019
                12 February 2019
                : 69
                : 685
                : e537-e545
                Affiliations
                School of Biology, Medicine, and Health;
                Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, School of Arts, Languages, and Cultures, University of Manchester, Manchester.
                School of Biology, Medicine, and Health;
                Author notes
                Address for correspondence Louise Tomkow, Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, Ellen Wilkinson Building, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK. Email: louise_tomkow@ 123456hotmail.com
                Article
                10.3399/bjgp19X701309
                6617541
                30745354
                b746ec69-89ff-4853-b932-683c2fff3233
                © British Journal of General Practice 2019

                This article is Open Access: CC BY 4.0 licence ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

                History
                : 02 October 2018
                : 30 October 2018
                : 06 November 2018
                Categories
                Research

                access to health care,asylum seekers,qualitative research,refugees

                Comments

                Comment on this article