Immigrant women’s perceptions and experiences of health care services: Insights from a focus group study

Giving Birth in a Foreign Land: Exploring the Maternal Healthcare Experiences of Zimbabwean Migrant Women Living in Johannesburg, South Africa

“…Whilst important, this literature fails to adequately capture the experiences of the women who are featured in this paper-migrant women who have and create families within the urban spaces that they work-and who have to navigate issues of childcare, accommodation and especially access to healthcare. Yet, female migrants have been recognised as an important group for targeted public health interventions as increasing evidence points out that migration can adversely affect the health of migrant women who are likely to be of reproductive age and to experience associated health concerns (Dias et al 2010). In recognition of this, a small-but growing-body of literature explores the maternal healthcare experiences of migrant women in South African cities (e.g.…”

Assessing maternal healthcare inequities among migrants: a qualitative study

“…Procedure Semi-structured interviews with similar guidelines were conducted on all women (migrants and natives), evaluating the perceived needs and cultural challenges that potentially influence the perceptions of the migrant population 13 , and that determine health demands, treatment adherence, effectiveness of health advice and inequalities in health 20 . Interviews took place in the association or institution where the women were recruited and its duration was about 25 minutes.…”

“…Along with issues related to health literacy concerning pregnancy and its assistance, migrants often obtain poorer medical follow-ups 7,8,9,10,11 . Additionally, migrants' expectations about healthcare received during pregnancy commonly differ and conflict with the normative procedures of the host country 12,13,14 . In a moment of current intense reconfiguration of the European societal structure, due to the global economic crisis, Portugal is officially no longer a host country for immigrants 15 and has once again become a country that principally exports human capital.…”

“…We believe that the users' perspective still offers a sensitive quality indicator of received care 13,16,17,18 , and helps to identify possible gaps emerging from budgetary restructuring in public health policies. Our study was conducted in Porto, the second largest city of Portugal.…”

HIV/AIDS Among Immigrants in Portugal: Socio-Demographic and Behavioural Correlates of Preventive Practices

“…Since 2001, immigrants in Portugal are entitled to health care regardless of legal status, including free health care to pregnant women and recent mothers, users of family planning programmes and individuals with transmissible diseases. Nevertheless, evidence on access and utilization of health services among migrants in Portugal suggests that barriers related to legal issues, economic constraints, lack of information of migrants on their health rights and negative attitudes of health professionals remain (Dias et al, 2008(Dias et al, , 2010a.…”