Abstract
Women of refugee background are subject to significant health inequity. Access to health information and a good level of health literacy are integral components to manage one’s health needs. The aim of this study isto understand the experiences of women of refugee background from Myanmar seeking and accessing health information. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 women of refugee background from Myanmar resettled in Western Australia. Interpretative phenomenological analysis underpinned the study and was conducted on the interview data. Three superordinate themes and nine subordinate themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Seeking health information (Motivation and Sources), (2) Facilitators and Barriers (Communication, Navigating the system and Community) and (3) Seeking health information in the context of past experiences (Health information as a by-product of healthcare, Health professionals’ provision of health information, Accessibility of healthcare and Expectations on resettlement). These themes provide insight into the challenges of accessing understandable and actionable health information and of promoting the health literacy of women of refugee background from Myanmar. Co-designed community-based and health service interventions should be trialled, including trauma-informed training for health professionals, health information apps and community health promotion programs. Community engagement, participation and evaluation are critical for determining the effective interventions to address the inequalities experienced by this population.
Highlights
The number of forcibly displaced people is at its highest documented level.Conflict, threats to human rights, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change events have resulted in over 1% of the global population being forced to flee their homes [1]
14 women participated in semi-structured interviews
One sister later participated in an individual interview at her request because she felt she had more to share
Summary
The number of forcibly displaced people is at its highest documented level. Threats to human rights, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change events have resulted in over 1% of the global population being forced to flee their homes [1]. In Myanmar, conflict and instability associated with the February 2021 military coup, ongoing food insecurity and successive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in school closures, reduced healthcare access and increased gender-based violence [1,2]. Poverty is expected to further increase in 2022, increased displacement of people from. Violence and persecution in Myanmar have resulted in over one million people being displaced or seeking asylum in nearby countries, including. Myanmar is composed of numerous ethnic groups, including the Chin, the Karen, the Kachin, the Mon and the Rohingya [3]. Over 900,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar live in congested refugee camps in Cox’s
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