Caring for pregnant refugee women in a turbulent policy landscape: perspectives of health care professionals in Calgary, Alberta
Abstract
Female refugees can be a vulnerable population, often having suffered through traumatic events that pose risks to their health, especially during pregnancy. Pregnancy can be an entry point into the health care system, providing health care professionals the opportunity to gain women’s trust, connect refugees with resources, and optimize the health of mother and child. Policies surrounding the provision and funding of health care services to refugees can impact access to and quality of care. The aim of our study was to understand the experiences of health care professionals caring for pregnant refugee women in Calgary, AB. Health care providers described several barriers when caring for pregnant refugees, including language barriers, difficulty navigating the health care system, and cultural barriers such as managing traditional gender dynamics, only wanting a female provider and differences in medical practices. Providers managed these barriers through using a team-based approach to care, coordinating the patient’s care with other services, and addressing both the medical and social needs of the patient. The federal funding cuts added additional challenges, as many refugees were left without adequate health coverage and the system was complicated to understand. Health care providers developed creative strategies to maximize coverage for their patients including paying out of pocket or relying on donations to care for uninsured refugees. Finally, the recent Syrian refugee influx has increased the demand on service providers and further strained already limited resources.
Notes
Location
Calgary, Alberta
Integration timeline
At what point during the integration process the study was conducted?
NA
Key populations
Service providers
Key Recommendations
A more in-deoth understanding of the impact of cuts in fundings on refugees.
Key findings
This research is on the barriers and facilitators in providing care for refugee pregnant women. The barriers included language and cultural barriers, lack of resources, difficulty navigating a complex system and diverse migratory experience and legal status. These findigns suggest that the refugee pregnant women are a unique population, different from non-refugee pregnant women in the general population. Therefore, healthcare professionals had to engage in various strategies to overcome the barriers — including adopting a team-based appraoch, creative communication, coordination of care, rapport building, and understanding and preparing for caring for a unique population.
Gaps identified
Limited financial resources from the Canadian government despite the large influx of Syrian refugees. Also, there was not enough healthcare professionals trained in refugee health.
Community organizations
The Mosaic Refugee Health Clinic
Open-access – Yes
https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-018-0801-5