Public health nurse services for maternal-child immigrant healthcare: a literature review

Abstract

Aim: To examine the impact of the complexity of regulations and restrictive policies on the accessibility of healthcare services for immigrants, particularly maternal and child healthcare. Public health nurses can facilitate management of healthcare services for immigrants in the community by preventing mortality and morbidity among the immigrant population. This literature review was used to identify the challenges faced by public health nurses in providing maternal-child immigrant healthcare. Design: A literature review. Methods: Relevant healthcare databases including PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched using the following combination of search terms: public health nurses, maternal care, child care, and immigrants. Results: Six articles were included in the review. Immigrants (undocumented immigrant families in particular) have limited access to public healthcare services, due to factors such as: socio-demographics; language barriers; cultural differences; the status of unregistered families; psychological distress; and problems with health insurance. Public health nurses deliver health education, maternal and postnatal check-ups, and vaccination through community and/or home-based service programs. The role of immigrant health volunteers is facilitated by the partnership between public health nurses and the immigrant population in providing comprehensive maternal and child healthcare in the community. Conclusion: There are barriers that currently impact on the development of public health nurses' provision of maternal and child healthcare services to immigrants. Strategies that can be implemented to improve public health nurse competencies in maternal and child healthcare of immigrants include bicultural or bilingual training, and cultural competencies in visit programs.