Talks, IsobelAl Mobarak, ButhenaKatona, CorneliusHunt, JaneWinters, NiallGeniets, Anne2024-04-122024-04-122024-04-01Talks, 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-06-2023-00602042-8650https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-06-2023-0060https://hdl.handle.net/10315/42013This 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-06-2023-0060Purpose 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.enAttribution-NonCommercial 4.0 InternationalForced migrationMental healthHealth educationRefugee healthDental healthAsylum seekers' healthArticle