Abstract
BackgroundDutch residents of Turkish origin frequently utilize healthcare in Turkey.MethodsTo investigate their motives for doing so, we conducted a qualitative study among these healthcare users using semi-structured interviews. We complemented this with informal conversations with Turkish healthcare providers and observations at the registration offices and waiting rooms of outpatient clinics in several Turkish hospitals.ResultsRespondents believed their perceived needs for referral to specialist care and diagnostic assessments to quantify their health were not being met in the Netherlands.ConclusionsThese mismatches in expectations of what constitutes “good care” led to dissatisfaction with Dutch primary care. Consequently, respondents utilized healthcare in Turkey if the opportunity arose, and were encouraged in this by their social networks. Establishing cross-border communication between healthcare providers is necessary, because there is currently no continuity of care for cross-border patients.
Highlights
Dutch residents of Turkish origin frequently utilize healthcare in Turkey
Respondents’ characteristics Predisposing characteristics Health beliefs The respondents were forthcoming about their health beliefs during all of the interviews, and expressed themselves at length. These health beliefs can be divided into beliefs about healthcare services and beliefs about their own health, which lead to specific health beliefs about what constitutes good care
Dutch citizens of Turkish origin utilized healthcare in Turkey on an opportunistic basis, motivated by their beliefs of what constitutes “good care”, perceived unmet needs for specialist care, and guided by their social network
Summary
Dutch residents of Turkish origin frequently utilize healthcare in Turkey. In the Netherlands, 12% of the Dutch general population is of non-Western origin [2]. Previous studies have shown that European residents of non-Western origin utilize healthcare in their country of origin [3,4,5,6,7,8]. We found that, compared with respondents of Moroccan, Ghanaian, and Surinamese origin, respondents of Turkish origin reported the highest healthcare utilization in the country of origin (HCUCO) [9]. Several West European countries (including Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Germany) have relatively large Turkish migrant populations. Many young Turkish people (second-generation migrants) have chosen ethnic concordant partners and tend to remain in contact with their culture [10].
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