Barriers to and facilitators of health services utilisation by refugees in resettlement countries: an overview of systematic reviews.

ConclusionsBarriers to accessing health care include refugee characteristics, practice issues in health services, including the knowledge and skills of health professionals, and the resettlement context. Health services need to identify barriers to culturally sensitive care. Improvements in service delivery are needed that meet the needs of refugees. More research is needed to evaluate facilitators to improving health care accessibility for these vulnerable groups.What is known about the topic?Refugee health after resettlement is poor, yet health service use is low.What does this paper add?Barriers to accessing health services in resettlement countries are related not only to refugees, but also to issues regarding health service practices and health professionals' knowledge and skill, as well as the context of resettlement. Few facilitators to improving refugee access to health services have been identified.What are the implications for practitioners?The barriers associated with health professionals and health services have been linked to trust building, and these need to be addressed to improve accessibility of care for refugees. PMID: 30654856 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research