Abstract
Immigrants deserve special attention as they constitute a very sensitive social group, facing an increasing risk of social exclusion. The access of immigrants to health services is one of the most important factors, which contributes to their integration into the society of induction. The purpose of this study is to track and assess the immigrants’ satisfaction from the health services provided by the Greek National Health System (NHS). The satisfaction level assessment is examined in conjunction with demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the study participants, as well as with the characteristics that are related to their personal experience with the National Health System in Greece. The research was conducted from March 2012 to May 2013. The sample of the research comprises of 126 “first-generation” immigrants on legal permit of residence in Greece, who lived in the prefecture of Attica. It is panel study based on “snowball sampling” and the statistical analysis was conducted with the use of the Stata (ver. 11), while the statistical analysis used probit estimation techniques. The demographic and social variables—particularly the variables of gender, “understanding the Greek language”, “education”, “participation in the community of origin” and “insurance”—the variables of “health” and specifically “long-term diseases” and the variable of “trust” are found to be highly related with immigrants’ satisfaction degree from the Greek health system. Our research concludes that health is a fundamental, human right and immigrants’ access to health services is essential not only for their instant and effective treatment of their health problems and the improvement of their lives but also for ensuring the public health in Greece. In order to properly incorporate immigrants in Greece in particular, the health policy decision-makers have to pay attention to the contributing factors.
Highlights
Immigrants constitute a vulnerable population group, a fact suggesting that they are facing an increased risk of social isolation
Based on the data presented above, the sample of immigrants in our research study tend, on average, to be Country of origin of participants
The findings of our study provide important information on immigrant satisfaction concerning the public health services provided in Greece
Summary
Immigrants constitute a vulnerable population group, a fact suggesting that they are facing an increased risk of social isolation. Their access to health services is one of the key parameters that contribute to their social inclusion, in the receptive society. Immigration to Greece began during the ’80s, was limited in terms of the number of immigrants the country could hold and in a legal form, while the majority of immigrants originated from Africa and Asia. Since the mid-90s, the increase of immigrant flows toward Greece made the country number one in the percentage increase of incoming immigrants in the whole of Europe, with a large percentage of illegal immigrants. In 2012, of the total number of 10,815,197 residents, 537,273 were legal residents, while the number of illegal immigrants was estimated at 577,900 people [2]
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