Abstract
BackgroundUnderstanding immigrants’ interactions with the United States (US) healthcare system will likely make it possible to meet their healthcare needs and improve their quality of life in the US. Although challenges to accessing and utilizing healthcare in the US have been identified, there is little information specific to Brazilian-born immigrants’ experiences. Brazilians comprise a fast-growing immigrant population group in the US. The purpose of this study was to explore Brazilian immigrant women’s perspectives and experiences with healthcare services in the US to gain insights into factors amenable to interventions that may contribute to disparities in access to and utilization of services.MethodsFive focus groups were conducted from April to May in 2015 using a purposeful sampling of Brazilian-born immigrant women living in Massachusetts, US.ResultsThirty-five women participated in this study. Although participants expressed their overall satisfaction with the US healthcare system, they noted several barriers to care, including sociocultural differences in delivery of care and communication barriers, including inconsistent quality of interpreting services.ConclusionsThis study provides new information on the experiences and challenges faced by Brazilian immigrant women in accessing and utilizing healthcare services in the US and points out opportunities for improving services and the overall health of this immigrant population. Addressing noted sociocultural differences and communication barriers including inconsistent quality of hospital’s interpreting services might enhance Brazilian-born immigrants’ experiences with the healthcare system.
Highlights
Understanding immigrants’ interactions with the United States (US) healthcare system will likely make it possible to meet their healthcare needs and improve their quality of life in the US
Accessing and utilizing health care in a new country is central to the quality of life of immigrants [3,4,5], yet immigrants often have lower rates of health insurance coverage and medical service usage than their US-born counterparts and immigrant groups with legal status residing in the US [6,7,8,9,10], which impacts their healthcare access
The study design allowed for the identification of multiple contextual factors that may influence the experiences of Brazilian immigrant women who access and utilize healthcare services in the US
Summary
Understanding immigrants’ interactions with the United States (US) healthcare system will likely make it possible to meet their healthcare needs and improve their quality of life in the US. Brazilians began immigrating to the US in increasing numbers in the 1980s due to worsening economic conditions in Brazil [2]. Many of these immigrants are undocumented, and more Brazilian women have immigrated to the US than Brazilian men [2]. Accessing and utilizing health care in a new country is central to the quality of life of immigrants [3,4,5], yet immigrants often have lower rates of health insurance coverage and medical service usage than their US-born counterparts and immigrant groups with legal status residing in the US [6,7,8,9,10], which impacts their healthcare access. Research suggests that having medical insurance coverage—whether private or through Medicaid—increases utilization of healthcare services by undocumented immigrants [17,18,19]
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