A Service Evaluation of Migrants’ Experiences of Accessing Healthcare in an Infectious Diseases Clinic in Ireland

TL;DR

This study explores the challenges migrants face when accessing healthcare in an infectious diseases clinic in Ireland, highlighting issues like long commutes and cost barriers.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into migrant healthcare experiences in Ireland, focusing on an infectious diseases clinic context.

Findings

26% of patients reported a commuting time of more than two hours to attend the clinic.

15% of patients experienced difficulty accessing healthcare due to cost.

Accessibility and privacy were major challenges, while communication and trust were strengths.

Abstract

The healthcare needs of refugees and people seeking asylum are often broad and complex, with a higher burden of communicable diseases. There are limited data describing migrants’ experiences of accessing healthcare in Ireland. This cross-sectional study describes the experiences of migrants accessing healthcare services through an Irish Infectious Diseases clinic. Individuals attending the infectious diseases services in our hospital who had migrated to Ireland were included. Data were collected via a questionnaire, focusing on factors that may limit access to care, including communication, accessibility, cost, and stigmatisation. Seventy-six patients participated in this study. N = 20 (26%) of patients reported a commuting time of more than two hours to attend our clinic. N = 11 (15%) had experienced being unable to access healthcare in Ireland due to cost. Trust in healthcare providers was high (88%), and patient-reported satisfaction with communication was high (>90%). Persons living in direct provision services were more likely to report issues around privacy and less likely to have registered with a general practitioner. Accessibility and privacy were among the biggest challenges faced by migrants attending infectious diseases services at our centre, while communication and trust in healthcare providers were identified as areas of strength. Considering the burden of infectious diseases in migrant populations, and the challenges that certain migrant populations face in accessing healthcare, it is important to identify potential barriers to accessing care in order to ensure equitable, effective care. This study seeks to identify and describe the challenges that migrants face when accessing care through an Irish infectious diseases clinic. The results can help inform service provision and allocation of resources at a local level, while also identifying an area for further research regarding the barriers to accessing care faced by migrant communities in Ireland.