The Difficulties Experienced by Nurses Working in A Tertiary Hospital in Turkey while Providing Health Care to Immigrant and Refugee Patients and Intercultural Sensitivity

Abstract

Objective: This research was carried out to evaluate the difficulties experienced by nurses during the delivery of health care to immigrant and refugee patients and their intercultural sensitivity.
 Methods: The descriptive-cross-sectional study was conducted with 132 nurses. In the study, "socio-demographic questions, questions about the difficulties experienced while caring for immigrant/refugee patients" and "Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS)" were applied. Mean ± standard deviation, frequency, and percentage values, Kruskal Wallis, Mann Whitney-U test, and Spearman correlation analysis were used in the data analysis. The statistical significance level was accepted as p30 years (p=0.021), those with undergraduate and graduate degrees (p=0.036), and those living in the city center were high (p=0.044). While the scale's total score was higher in those who benefited from the media and previous experiences as a source of cultural information (p=0.015, p=0.002, respectively), it was lower in those who had difficulties caring for immigrants and refugee patients (p=0.035). 
 Conclusion: In our result, it is seen that the level of intercultural sensitivity in nurses is moderate, and age, education level, and place of residence for immigrant or refugee patients affect intercultural sensitivity. It is seen that nurses with low intercultural sensitivity have difficulties in giving care to immigrant and refugee patients.

Determination of the Mental Adjustment Status of Refugee Children in Primary School Age: The Case of Turkey

“…Health services should regularly follow up on refugee children with chronic diseases. In the literature, it is stated that refugees experience some problems, such as not knowing their rights in accessing health services, having limited information about the language of the country they reside, having limited information about the general health system, and not being able to receive services following transcultural care principles (Beser & Tekkes Kerman, 2017;Derince, 2019;Ozdemir & Kiymaz, 2023). The fact that the cultures of the refugees are not adequately recognized by the health care professionals in the country they migrate to may negatively affect the provision of health care services.…”

“…The fact that the cultures of the refugees are not adequately recognized by the health care professionals in the country they migrate to may negatively affect the provision of health care services. Ozdemir and Kiymaz (2023) found that nurses with low transcultural sensitivity have difficulties while caring for refugee patients. Nurses' cultural sensitivity levels were found to be moderate in a study conducted on the southeastern border of Turkey, and it was stated that for effective health care delivery, health professionals should be trained in intercultural care and patient care plans should be adapted to take into account different cultural experiences (Uzun & Sevinc, 2015).…”