Too long to wait: South Asian migrants’ experiences of accessing health care in Australia

Abstract Background Migrants settling in a new country experience multiple complexities in navigating health care systems and adapting to a new way of life in the host country. In South Asia, migrating to another country for better life opportunities has been an ongoing trend and migration to Austra...

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Autores principales:	Manju Adhikari, Sabitra Kaphle, Yamuna Dhakal, Sabina Duwadi, Rajan Subedi, Sonu Shakya, Sunil Tamang, Mukesh Khadka
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	BMC 2021
Materias:	Migrant patient experience Access to health care Health care barriers South Asian migrants Culturally competent care Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/2bea6ae9fed9431abebc2be6bb75c705
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:2bea6ae9fed9431abebc2be6bb75c7052021-11-21T12:11:24ZToo long to wait: South Asian migrants’ experiences of accessing health care in Australia10.1186/s12889-021-12132-61471-2458https://doaj.org/article/2bea6ae9fed9431abebc2be6bb75c7052021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12132-6https://doaj.org/toc/1471-2458Abstract Background Migrants settling in a new country experience multiple complexities in navigating health care systems and adapting to a new way of life in the host country. In South Asia, migrating to another country for better life opportunities has been an ongoing trend and migration to Australia has significantly increased in recent years. Lower utilisation of health services and higher risks of chronic diseases among South Asian migrants poses a continuing challenge for the Australian health care system and little is known about why this demographic group does not access health services at the same rate. This study aimed to explore factors influencing access to health care by South Asian migrants in Australia. Methods Using a mixed-method design, we conducted 62 online survey and 14 in-depth interviews with participants from four South Asian countries: Nepal, India, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. Participants were recruited using a purposive snowball sampling approach following a standard ethical approval process. Survey data were analysed descriptively in SPSS and interview data were recorded, transcribed, and analysed thematically. Results South Asian migrants experienced various complexities while accessing health services in Australia. The findings of this study highlighted a number of negative factors influencing their experiences of accessing health care: long waiting times for public health care, the expense of private health care, and communication problems due to socio-cultural differences. South Asian migrants also expressed their concern for a greater investment of resources into public health care to enable them to access quality and affordable care in these settings. Conclusions Given limited evidence available to help understand factors leading to the lower utilisation of health care and higher risks of chronic diseases among South Asian migrants, this study plays an important role in highlighting social, cultural, financial, and institutional factors that are critical to designing appropriate health-care strategies. This study recommends incorporating a collaborative and culturally competent model of care to increase access to health care and thereby help reduce existing disparities in health outcomes among South Asian migrant populations.Manju AdhikariSabitra KaphleYamuna DhakalSabina DuwadiRajan SubediSonu ShakyaSunil TamangMukesh KhadkaBMCarticleMigrant patient experienceAccess to health careHealth care barriersSouth Asian migrantsCulturally competent carePublic aspects of medicineRA1-1270ENBMC Public Health, Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Migrant patient experience Access to health care Health care barriers South Asian migrants Culturally competent care Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
spellingShingle	Migrant patient experience Access to health care Health care barriers South Asian migrants Culturally competent care Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Manju Adhikari Sabitra Kaphle Yamuna Dhakal Sabina Duwadi Rajan Subedi Sonu Shakya Sunil Tamang Mukesh Khadka Too long to wait: South Asian migrants’ experiences of accessing health care in Australia
description	Abstract Background Migrants settling in a new country experience multiple complexities in navigating health care systems and adapting to a new way of life in the host country. In South Asia, migrating to another country for better life opportunities has been an ongoing trend and migration to Australia has significantly increased in recent years. Lower utilisation of health services and higher risks of chronic diseases among South Asian migrants poses a continuing challenge for the Australian health care system and little is known about why this demographic group does not access health services at the same rate. This study aimed to explore factors influencing access to health care by South Asian migrants in Australia. Methods Using a mixed-method design, we conducted 62 online survey and 14 in-depth interviews with participants from four South Asian countries: Nepal, India, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. Participants were recruited using a purposive snowball sampling approach following a standard ethical approval process. Survey data were analysed descriptively in SPSS and interview data were recorded, transcribed, and analysed thematically. Results South Asian migrants experienced various complexities while accessing health services in Australia. The findings of this study highlighted a number of negative factors influencing their experiences of accessing health care: long waiting times for public health care, the expense of private health care, and communication problems due to socio-cultural differences. South Asian migrants also expressed their concern for a greater investment of resources into public health care to enable them to access quality and affordable care in these settings. Conclusions Given limited evidence available to help understand factors leading to the lower utilisation of health care and higher risks of chronic diseases among South Asian migrants, this study plays an important role in highlighting social, cultural, financial, and institutional factors that are critical to designing appropriate health-care strategies. This study recommends incorporating a collaborative and culturally competent model of care to increase access to health care and thereby help reduce existing disparities in health outcomes among South Asian migrant populations.
format	article
author	Manju Adhikari Sabitra Kaphle Yamuna Dhakal Sabina Duwadi Rajan Subedi Sonu Shakya Sunil Tamang Mukesh Khadka
author_facet	Manju Adhikari Sabitra Kaphle Yamuna Dhakal Sabina Duwadi Rajan Subedi Sonu Shakya Sunil Tamang Mukesh Khadka
author_sort	Manju Adhikari
title	Too long to wait: South Asian migrants’ experiences of accessing health care in Australia
title_short	Too long to wait: South Asian migrants’ experiences of accessing health care in Australia
title_full	Too long to wait: South Asian migrants’ experiences of accessing health care in Australia
title_fullStr	Too long to wait: South Asian migrants’ experiences of accessing health care in Australia
title_full_unstemmed	Too long to wait: South Asian migrants’ experiences of accessing health care in Australia
title_sort	too long to wait: south asian migrants’ experiences of accessing health care in australia
publisher	BMC
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/2bea6ae9fed9431abebc2be6bb75c705
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Too long to wait: South Asian migrants’ experiences of accessing health care in Australia

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