Abstract
Increasing HIV notifications amongst migrant and mobile populations to Australia is a significant public health issue. Generalizations about migrant health needs and delayed or deterred help-seeking behaviors can result from disregarding the variation between and within cultures including factors, such as drivers for migration and country of birth. This study explored barriers and enablers to accessing sexual health services, including experiences of stigma and discrimination, within a purposive sample of sub-Saharan African, Southeast Asian, and East Asian migrants. A qualitative design was employed using key informant interviews and focus group discussions. A total of 45 people with ages ranging from 18 to 50 years, participated in focus group discussions. Common barriers and enablers to help seeking behaviors were sociocultural and religious influence, financial constraints, and knowledge dissemination to reduce stigma. Additionally, common experiences of stigma and discrimination were related to employment and the social and self-isolation of people living with HIV. Overcoming barriers to accessing sexual health services, imparting sexual health knowledge, recognizing variations within cultures, and a reduction in stigma and discrimination will simultaneously accelerate help-seeking and result in better sexual health outcomes in migrant populations.
Highlights
Infections which were previously geographically confined are universal public health concerns as a result of globalization [1]
This study reports findings from the focus group discussions. For both sub-Saharan African and Southeast Asian/East Asian groups, there were five common themes including sociocultural and Southeast Asian/East Asian groups, there were five common themes including sociocultural and religious influences, financial constraints, knowledge dissemination to reduce stigma, employment religious influences, financial constraints, knowledge dissemination to reduce stigma, employment preference, and social and self-isolation of people living with HIV
There is a distinct division of themes across both target groups into those pertinent to help-seeking barriers and enablers and others that are related to target groups into those pertinent to help-seeking barriers and enablers and others that are related to participants’ experiences of stigma and discrimination (Figure 1)
Summary
Infections which were previously geographically confined are universal public health concerns as a result of globalization [1]. Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, as well as antimicrobial drug resistant strains of infections, have substantially threatened global health [2]. In the last ten years, Australia has reported an increase in the number of HIV notifications amongst individuals travelling in and out of high HIV prevalence regions [3]. This increase has been attributed in part to the growth in migration and mobility rates [4,5,6].
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