A mile in their shoes: understanding healthcare journeys of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK

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Date

2024-04-01

Authors

Talks, Isobel
Al Mobarak, Buthena
Katona, Cornelius
Hunt, Jane
Winters, Niall
Geniets, Anne

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care

Abstract

Purpose

Refugees and asylum seekers worldwide face numerous barriers in accessing health systems. The evidence base regarding who and what helps refugees and asylum seekers facilitate access to and the navigation of the health system in the UK is small. This study aims to address this gap by analysing 14 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with refugees and asylum seekers of different countries of origin in the UK to identify where, when and how they came into contact with the health-care system and what the outcome of these interactions was.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were chosen as the key method for this study. In total, 14 individual interviews were conducted. A trauma-informed research approach was applied to reduce the risk of re-traumatising participants.

Findings

The paper identifies key obstacles as well as “facilitators” of refugees’ and asylum seekers’ health-care experience in the UK and suggests that host families, friends and third-party organisations all play an important role in ensuring refugees and asylum seekers receive the healthcare they need.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first qualitative study in the UK that looks at comprehensive health journeys of refugees from their first encounter with health services through to secondary care, highlighting the important role along the way of facilitators such as host families, friends and third-party organisations.

Description

This author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please contact permissions@emerald.com. This article is published in its final form in the International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care as: Talks, I., Al Mobarak, B., Katona, C., Hunt, J., Winters, N., & Geniets, A. (2024). A mile in their shoes: understanding health-care journeys of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-06-2023-0060

Keywords

Forced migration, Mental health, Health education, Refugee health, Dental health, Asylum seekers' health

Citation

Talks, I., Al Mobarak, B., Katona, C., Hunt, J., Winters, N., & Geniets, A. (2024). A mile in their shoes: understanding health-care journeys of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-06-2023-0060