Caring For Migrant And Minority Patients In European Hospitals

Social changes in European societies place migration and cultural diversity on the European political agenda. The European initiative Migrant Friendly Hospitals (MFH) aims to identify, develop and evaluate models of effective interventions. It has the following objectives: To strengthen the role of hospitals in promoting the health of migrants and ethnic minorities in the European Union and to improve hospital services for these groups. This report reviews models of effective intervention in the medical literature and provides the background information needed to enable partner hospitals taking part in the MFH initiative to select and implement suitable interventions. The interventions reviewed in this study are grouped in four areas: Communication, Responsiveness Empowerment of migrant and minority patients and communities. Monitoring of the health of migrants and minorities and the health care they receive. [Ed.]

Vol. 1 examines how much is known about migrant and ethnic minority health and where the barriers to scientific progress lie. Vol. 2 is concerned with the changes that are needed to improve the matching of health services to the needs of these groups.

This book addresses the research and policy issues that emerge from the interface of different cultures as a consequence of migration. It includes articles on the following issues: (1) the contribution of the social sciences to an understanding of migrant health needs; (2) health care across cultural boundaries; (3) health care for labor immigrants; (4) philosophical considerations of health care policy and the position of ethnic minorities; (5) health care research and evaluation in a host country: The Netherlands; (6) health care and Moroccan and Turkish immigrants; (7) problems of health and health care research with particular reference to ethnic minorities; (8) health care research and evaluation from the country of origin: Turkey and Morocco; (9) social and health problems of migrant workers; (10) social and health care of Moroccan workers in Europe; (11) aspects of health care intervention in host countries; (12) advocating for migrants' health; (13) migrants' special needs in sexuality and family planning in Belgium and Germany; (14) health care and education aids for foreigners in the Netherlands; (15) mental health of migrants; and (16) psycho-social problems of migrants. The book concludes with recommendations for researchers and practitioners. (LHW)

"This book can be read by anyone with an interest in migration and health, whether as an advocate for migrants´ health, as a student in a health profession, researcher or policy maker. It provides an ample orientation to the field in the European context. Among other important raised issues, it underlines an all too often neglected fact; health is a human right. By involving broad issues and problem areas from a variety of perspectives, the volume illustrates that migration and health is a field that can not be allocated to a single discipline." Carin Björngren Cuadra, Senior Lecturer, Malmö University, Sweden Migrants make up a growing share of European populations. However, all too often their situation is compounded by problems with accessing health and other basic services. There is a need for tailored health policies, but robust data on the health needs of migrants and how best these needs can be met are scarce. Written by a collaboration of authors from three key international organisations (the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, the EUPHA Section on Migrant and Ethnic Minority Health, and the International Organization for Migration), as well as leading researchers from across Europe, the book thoroughly explores the different aspects of migration and health in the EU and how they can be addressed by health systems. Structured into five easy-to-follow sections, the volume includes: Contributions from experts from across Europe Key topics such as: access to human rights and health care; health issues faced by migrants; and the national and European policy response so far Conclusions drawn from the latest available evidence Comprehensive information on different aspects of health and migration and how they can best be addressed by health systems is still not easy to find. This book addresses this shortfall and will be of major value to researchers, students, policy-makers and practitioners concerned with migration and health in an increasingly diverse Europe.

This salient volume surveys the state of access to primary care and preventive health services by migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers across Europe. Experts in public health and allied fields identify obstacles to healthcare interventions for migrants, including costs, legal status, health-related behaviors and beliefs, and cultural and language barriers. The book includes the latest data concerning access to specific preventive services (e.g., vaccinations, colorectal screenings), specific issues of women and sexual minorities, and the potential for health promotion in prevention. Best practices for improving access are outlined as a basis for public health and policy directives toward reducing health disparities between migrant and native populations. Among the topics covered: Access to medical examination for prevention among migrants Access and barriers to infant vaccinations, female cancer screening and colorectal screening among migrant populations Provision and policy gap between the primary and preventive care required by and the care provided to LGBTQ+ migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Health related lifestyles and intermediate health conditions of migrants. Quality of primary healthcare and preventive health services provided to migrants Adaptations of primary health care for migrants Access to primary health care and policies on migration and health at a time of economic crisis Dedicated to bridging research and policy gaps in this vital area, Primary Care Access and Preventive Health Services of Migrants is intended for an international audience of academics, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in public health and related disciplines.

This title is directed primarily towards health care professionals outside of the United States. This introductory text explores Australian health policy through a novel, problem-orientated approach. It shows the problem-solving techniques that are used when developing policy and demonstrates the skills of analysis and decision making. Introductory chapters explain the problem-orientated approach to health policy development and introduce the policy making process. These are followed by case studies that explore developments in Australian health policy in priority and topical areas. Chapters illustrate how policy-makers respond to perennial and emerging policy problems and demonstrate problem-solving approaches to the conception, development and implementation of health policy. Of particular concern are areas which are in transition or are highly contested. A team of prominent and expert contributors gives an overview of key issues, analyse the policy responses that have occurred and propose directions for the future. Topics covered span governance, values and specific service areas within major established areas of health policy of national concern as well as emerging problems and developments that have occurred in response to well-known cases. Takes a novel, problem-oriented approach to analysing health policy in Australia, which fits well with how policy is often created in practice. Combines a conceptual framework with a rich selection of pertinent and topical case studies by prominent researchers and policy practitioners to put policy analysis in context and give insights from practical experience. Topics have been chosen to appeal to students from a wide range of health backgrounds and include issues in nursing, management, rehabilitation, health information, and technology. Includes questions for discussion in each chapter. A companion Evolve website for Instructors contains chapter-by-chapter notes on review questions, suggestions for tutorial exercises, assignment topics and examination questions.

This book's central focus is to provide academics, students, policy-makers, and practitioners with a unique insight into a wide variety of perspectives on settings-based health promotion. It offers clarity amidst different interpretations and ideological understandings of what applying a settings-based approach means. Emphasis is given to a salutogenic focus, exploring how the creation of wellbeing and fostering of potential in settings to best enable individuals and populations to flourish implies that the setting itself must be the entry point for health promotion. Building on this, the text explores how the settings approach to health promotion strives for changes in the structure and ethos of the setting – detailing how changes and developments in people's health and health behavior are easier to achieve if health promoters focus on settings rather than solely on individuals. The book comprises 15 chapters organized in three sections: In Part I, Evolution, Foundations and Key Principles of the Settings-Based Approach, the first four chapters present the determinants, theoretical basis, and generic commonalities that are consistent over various settings initiatives and formulate the grounds for the settings-based health promotion approach. In Part II, Applying the Settings-Based Approach to Key Settings, Chapters 5-13 introduce the key settings initiatives – both traditional and non-traditional (new and contemporary) – with their developments and specific features. In Part III, Gaia – The Ultimate Setting for Health Promotion, the last two chapters consider the settings approach in the context of future challenges and explore possible directions for further development. Handbook of Settings-Based Health Promotion has novel information and perspectives on the topic that provide readers with up-to-date specialist knowledge and application of global developments to develop and enhance a common understanding and generate new thinking in relation to contemporary settings. This timely tome will engage the academic community in the fields of health promotion and public health including students, teaching staff, and researchers. Additionally, it is a useful resource for policy-makers and practitioners in these fields.

With an increasing migrant population there is a growing need to organize interpreting practices in healthcare in order to deliver equitable high-quality care. This thesis focuses on healthcare institutions’ organization of interpreting services. The aim of the study was to explore interpreting practices in a healthcare context by comparing two different healthcare areas – elderly and emergency healthcare. The study aimed to highlight the impact of the organizational and institutional context. This study was designed as an explorative and descriptive qualitative study including 79 healthcare professionals with experience of interpreting practices recruited via purposeful sampling in elderly and emergency healthcare. Data were collected through individual and focus-group interviews and analysed with inductive qualitative content analysis. The main findings show that the processes and structures around interpreting practices were complex and mainly linked to individual and interpersonal levels and, to a limited extent, to the institutional level. On the institutional level the Public Procurement Act was the only formal policy to follow. On individual and interpersonal level interpreting practices were structured by self-established informal workplace routines developed by the professional groups. The norms and routines used was determined by access to interpreters, time aspects, characteristics of the care given, health conditions and the person’s problem, expectations and requests from the person and also from healthcare professionals. There were wishes for improvement, with better flexibility in access to professional interpreters, training for users and interpreters, and also better technical solutions and equipment. In conclusion, the use of interpreters was rooted in the organizational environment of interpreting practice, including the availability of laws, policy and guidelines, and closely related to individuals’ language skills, cultural values and social factors. The use of professional interpreters was based on the nature of care in context and access to interpreters and determined by health professionals’ estimation of the person’s current health status in order to deliver fast and individualized care based on humanistic values. Thus, it is important to consider organizational framework and cultural awareness when formulating interpreting practices adapted to the context, and formal guidelines in order to achieve the aim of personcentered and equal health care.