Creating consumer satisfaction in maternity care: The neglected needs of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees

Birgit Elke Jentsch, Roberta Durham, Vanora Hundley, Julia Hussein

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

An estimated 190 million people are now living outside their countries of birth or citizenship, and the rate of this migration is expected to remain high. The resulting growing cultural and ethnic diversity in societies adds specific challenges to the requirement of delivering public services such as health care to consumers. Globally, about half of the migrant population are women. Migrants' outcomes of pregnancy are known to be poor, showing significant disparities when compared with those of native populations. Although these disparities have been noted, knowledge is limited regarding the availability and accessibility of healthcare services, as well as the acceptability of maternity care for women with experiences of free and forced migration. Healthcare research in general, and maternity care research specifically, have often neglected this population. This paper examines the existing international guidelines intended to address inequities in health outcomes, policies which have been introduced at national levels, and the widely used concepts of patient-centred and woman-centred health services. The ideals implicit in those guidelines and concepts are contrasted with the available evidence of many overseas nationals experiences with healthcare provisions in general, and maternity care in particular. This is followed by reflections on deficiencies in current studies and on those methodological problems which make research on maternity care for migrant women particularly challenging. The conclusion considers the appropriateness and relevance of guidelines currently promoting equity in maternity care and suggests a future agenda for priority research.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)128-134
Number of pages7
JournalInternational Journal of Consumer Studies
Volume31
Issue number2
Early online date8 Feb 2007
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2007

Keywords

  • migrants
  • consumer satisfaction
  • maternity care
  • woman-centred care
  • patient-centred care

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Creating consumer satisfaction in maternity care: The neglected needs of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this