Abstract
IntroductionEthnic and socioeconomic inequalities in the Swedish health care system have increased. Most indicators suggest that immigrants have significantly poorer health than native Swedes. The purpose of this study was to explore the views of midwives on the factors that contribute to health care inequality among immigrants.MethodsData were collected via semi-structured interviews with ten midwives. These were transcribed and related categories identified through content analysis.ResultsThe interview data were divided into three main categories and seven subcategories. The category “Communication” was divided into subcategories “The meeting”, “Cultural diversity and language barriers” and “Trust and confidence”. The category “Potential barriers to the use of health care services” contained two subcategories, “Seeking health care” and “Receiving equal treatment”. Finally, the category “Transcultural health care” had subcategories “Education on transcultural health care” and “The concept”.ConclusionsThis study suggests that midwives believe that health care inequality among immigrants can be the result of miscommunication which may arise due to a shortage of meeting time, language barriers, different systems of cultural beliefs and practices and limited patient-caregiver trust. Midwives emphasized that education level, country of origin and length of stay in Sweden play a role when an immigrant seeks health care. Immigrants face more difficulties when seeking health care and in receiving adequate levels of care. However, different views among the midwives were also observed. Some midwives were sensitive to individual and intra-group differences, while some others viewed immigrants as a group of “others”. Midwives’ beliefs about subgroup-specific health services vs. integrating immigrants’ health care into mainstream health care services should be investigated further. Patients’ perspective should also be considered.
Highlights
Ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities in the Swedish health care system have increased
The aim of this study is to explore the views of one group of health care professionals on the factors that contribute to health care inequality among immigrants
Communication The results from all the interviews showed that communication has a central and significant role and may contribute to health inequality owing to ethnic and cultural differences
Summary
Ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities in the Swedish health care system have increased. The purpose of this study was to explore the views of midwives on the factors that contribute to health care inequality among immigrants. The practice of health care in Sweden has encountered new challenges in recent decades as the immigrant population has increased. Health care in Sweden is a public responsibility, financed primarily through taxes that are levied by county councils and municipalities. This study is one segment of a large study which has been conducted to explore factors that contribute to inequalities in the provision of health care in Sweden. Midwives play a crucial role as the representatives of the larger health care system for immigrants
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