Barriers and facilitators experienced by migrants and refugees when accessing pharmaceutical care: A scoping review

Filmer, Tamara Raisa; Ray, Robin; Glass, Beverley

doi:10.1016/j.sapharm.2023.02.016

Cited by 12 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Good cooperation between healthcare and the interpreter service has been shown to contribute to high-quality healthcare for patients in need of interpreters to be able to communicate in healthcare [ 38 ]. A scoping review [ 39 ] shows that this is important for a relationship between the migrant and the healthcare professionals in order to promote adequate information about medications. A trusting relationship with the pharmacist leads to increased reliable information being shared about medications, a bridge to the cultural divide, and an understanding for their patient and, subsequently, their compassion and care being improved.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A qualitative study on diverse experiences of medication safety among foreign-born persons living in Sweden

Hultin,

Pöder,

Hedström

et al. 2024

BMC Public Health

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Background The ongoing global migration has led to multicultural societies, with many migrants who do not speak the official language in the host country. This could contribute to communication problems with staff in healthcare and a risk to patient safety. Research on patient safety in medication use in migrants is an under-researched area. The aim was to explore diverse foreign-born people’s experiences and perceptions of self-management of medication and determine if home-based practice patterns have implications on medication safety, and what factors may support safe medication use. Methods A qualitative explorative study, with individual semi-structured interviews and participant observations in the patients’ home. Qualitative content analysis was applied. Results A purposeful sample of 15 foreign-born persons identified by healthcare staff as having language difficulties in Swedish that may pose a safety risk in connection with medication use at home, was selected. Three categories were identified. The first category showed respondents being dependent on another person, having experiences of not receiving information about their medications due to language barriers, having difficulties getting access to the healthcare centre and feeling distrusted/misunderstood. The second category showed respondents being independent and self-motivated Although they struggled, they managed to get access/contact with the healthcare centre themselves and felt understood/listened to by the staff. The last category concerned factors that facilitating medication use; such as having a medication list in the respondents’ own language and offering a choice of language on the answering machine at the healthcare centre. Although they knew it was impossible to get an interpreter at the pharmacy, they felt safe knowing there was always a solution for receiving understandable information. Conclusion The findings highlighted that language barriers can complicate the communication between migrants and the healthcare, which can affect the medication safety. Understanding of this group is essential to improve the cooperation between patients and staff, leading to culturally congruent care. This knowledge should be used in healthcare to understand the gap in communication to increase patient safety. Further research from other angles, e.g. pharmacy/healthcare staff and relatives is needed to identify and evaluate facilitation to improve the outcome of the intended medication treatment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A qualitative study on diverse experiences of medication safety among foreign-born persons living in Sweden

Hultin,

Pöder,

Hedström

et al. 2024

BMC Public Health

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“…Other studies reported financial barriers as a common challenge for accessing medicines among refugee populations in different countries. 46 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Access to and utilisation of antimicrobials among forcibly displaced persons in Uganda, Yemen and Colombia: a pilot cross-sectional survey

Kamiab Hesari,

Aljadeeah,

Brhlikova

et al. 2024

BMJ Open

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ObjectivesIdentifying key barriers to accessing quality-assured and affordable antimicrobials among forcibly displaced persons in Uganda, Yemen and Colombia and investigating their (1) utilisation patterns of antibiotics, (2) knowledge about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and (3) perception of the quality of antimicrobials received.DesignPilot cross-sectional survey.SettingData were collected from five health facilities in the Kiryandongo refugee settlement (Bweyale, Uganda), three camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Dar Sad district (Aden, Yemen) and a district with a high population of Venezuelan migrants (Kennedy district, Bogotá, Colombia). Data collection took place between February and May 2021. The three countries were selected due to their high number of displaced people in their respective continents.ParticipantsSouth Sudanese refugees in Uganda, IDPs in Yemen and Venezuelan migrants in Colombia.Outcome measureThe most common barriers to access to quality-assured and affordable antimicrobials.ResultsA total of 136 participants were enrolled in this study. Obtaining antimicrobials through informal pathways, either without a doctor’s prescription or through family and friends, was common in Yemen (27/50, 54.0%) and Colombia (34/50, 68.0%). In Yemen and Uganda, respondents used antibiotics to treat (58/86, 67.4%) and prevent (39/86, 45.3%) a cold. Knowledge of AMR was generally low (24/136, 17.6%). Barriers to access included financial constraints in Colombia and Uganda, prescription requirements in Yemen and Colombia, and non-availability of drugs in Uganda and Yemen.ConclusionOur multicentred research identified common barriers to accessing quality antimicrobials among refugees/IDPs/migrants and common use of informal pathways. The results suggest that knowledge gaps about AMR may lead to potential misuse of antimicrobials. Due to the study’s small sample size and use of non-probability sampling, the results should be interpreted with caution, and larger-scale assessments on this topic are needed. Future interventions designed for similar humanitarian settings should consider the interlinked barriers identified.

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Advancing transculturally informed, humanistic therapeutic practice for refugees and asylum seekers presenting with embodied trauma

O'Brien,

Charura

2024

Couns and Psychother Res

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IntroductionA record of 122.6 million people have sought refuge and asylum across the globe in 2024, exacerbated by emergencies in Ukraine, Sudan, Afghanistan and by the Israel–Hamas war. This number is set to rise to over 130 million people in refugee situations in 59 countries this year alone. With refugees suffering from higher rates of mental health difficulties than the general population, there is an urgent need to provide an expedient, socially just, transculturally informed pathway into humanistic psychological care services for these individuals. The objectives of this study were to explore how therapeutic practitioners are working effectively with displaced individuals presenting with embodied trauma, their experiences of transcultural approaches to therapeutic work and the impact of working alongside psychopharmacological medications in this commonly overprescribed client group.MethodA qualitative semi‐structured interview was operationalised with 12 therapeutic practitioners who have worked with displaced individuals, utilising reflexive thematic analysis of the data.ResultsFindings highlight a critical need for an updated transculturally informed, humanistic, person‐centred pathway of care for each displaced individual.DiscussionThis study offers facilitators and challenges to using a humanistic, transculturally updated assessment, formulation, treatment plan, and routine outcome measures for embodied trauma. It also considers the importance of working with a client's cultural context of origin, language, universally understood emotions, cultural strengths, preferences for therapy and use of a psychopharmacological review within a holistic constellation of care.

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Barriers and facilitators experienced by migrants and refugees when accessing pharmaceutical care: A scoping review

Cited by 12 publications

References 81 publications

A qualitative study on diverse experiences of medication safety among foreign-born persons living in Sweden

A qualitative study on diverse experiences of medication safety among foreign-born persons living in Sweden

Access to and utilisation of antimicrobials among forcibly displaced persons in Uganda, Yemen and Colombia: a pilot cross-sectional survey

Advancing transculturally informed, humanistic therapeutic practice for refugees and asylum seekers presenting with embodied trauma

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