Page 171 - S. Ličen, I. Karnjuš, & M. Prosen (Eds.). (2019). Women, migrations and health: Ensuring transcultural healthcare. Koper, University of Primorska Press.
P. 171
Monoligual Health?
Conclusions
Migrant women, as shown in our case study, face unequal treatment, discrim-
inatory practices and restrictions in access to adequate institutional health-
care in the field of sexual and reproductive health. The key challenges in this
area are communication with healthcare professionals and lack of informa-
tion, and consequently lack of adequate access to (relevant) health services.
Poor information and lack of or inadequate communication between med-
ical staff and migrant women may lead to social exclusion, marginalization
and stigmatization of migrant women, and this may also encourage unequal
power relations between the women and healthcare professionals. Ineffec-
tive and/or inadequate communication can ultimately lead to professional
errors or problems with treatment or medical procedures. A further impor-
tant problem is the lack of intercultural competencies of health professionals
and a lack of systemic solutions which would address the needs of migrant
women in the field of sexual and reproductive health.
In this view, an important aspect that should be addressed in the future
is action towards the sensitization of healthcare professionals with regard to
intercultural issues as well as discriminatory practices and behaviour, which
would facilitate the healthcare of migrant women, as well as help to prevent
misunderstandings and possible professional mistakes. There exists also the
need to introduce additional (systemic) education in the field of intercultural
competencies, whereby special attention in the context of sexual and repro-
ductive health should be given to attitudes of migrant women towards the
body, privacy and gender relations. A step in this direction is certainly taken
with the recently published Handbook for the Development of Cultural Com-
petencies developed by the National Institute of Public Health (Bofulin et
al., 2016), which aims to improve sensitivity to cultural differences and to in-
crease understanding and acceptance of diversity in society. The final goal
would be the introduction of these principles at all levels of healthcare edu-
cation. Good practices indicate that it would be necessary to introduce a cul-
tural mediator in the health system who could have significant impact on the
reduction of discriminatory practices and treatment. Systemic regulation of
interpretation in the health system is also necessary, as the problem of com-
municating is currently left to the creativity of medical staff and migrants. It
should be emphasized, however, that for proper communication interpreters
should also have (at least basic) healthcare knowledge (Zelalem et al., 2018).
Another important issue is that of providing proper information about in-
stitutional aspects of the sexual and reproductive health of migrant women.
169
Conclusions
Migrant women, as shown in our case study, face unequal treatment, discrim-
inatory practices and restrictions in access to adequate institutional health-
care in the field of sexual and reproductive health. The key challenges in this
area are communication with healthcare professionals and lack of informa-
tion, and consequently lack of adequate access to (relevant) health services.
Poor information and lack of or inadequate communication between med-
ical staff and migrant women may lead to social exclusion, marginalization
and stigmatization of migrant women, and this may also encourage unequal
power relations between the women and healthcare professionals. Ineffec-
tive and/or inadequate communication can ultimately lead to professional
errors or problems with treatment or medical procedures. A further impor-
tant problem is the lack of intercultural competencies of health professionals
and a lack of systemic solutions which would address the needs of migrant
women in the field of sexual and reproductive health.
In this view, an important aspect that should be addressed in the future
is action towards the sensitization of healthcare professionals with regard to
intercultural issues as well as discriminatory practices and behaviour, which
would facilitate the healthcare of migrant women, as well as help to prevent
misunderstandings and possible professional mistakes. There exists also the
need to introduce additional (systemic) education in the field of intercultural
competencies, whereby special attention in the context of sexual and repro-
ductive health should be given to attitudes of migrant women towards the
body, privacy and gender relations. A step in this direction is certainly taken
with the recently published Handbook for the Development of Cultural Com-
petencies developed by the National Institute of Public Health (Bofulin et
al., 2016), which aims to improve sensitivity to cultural differences and to in-
crease understanding and acceptance of diversity in society. The final goal
would be the introduction of these principles at all levels of healthcare edu-
cation. Good practices indicate that it would be necessary to introduce a cul-
tural mediator in the health system who could have significant impact on the
reduction of discriminatory practices and treatment. Systemic regulation of
interpretation in the health system is also necessary, as the problem of com-
municating is currently left to the creativity of medical staff and migrants. It
should be emphasized, however, that for proper communication interpreters
should also have (at least basic) healthcare knowledge (Zelalem et al., 2018).
Another important issue is that of providing proper information about in-
stitutional aspects of the sexual and reproductive health of migrant women.
169
