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‘Differences between the earth and the sky’: Migrant parents’ experiences of child health services for pre-school children in the UK

Condon, Louise; McClean, Stuart; McRae, Luiza

‘Differences between the earth and the sky’: Migrant parents’ experiences of child health services for pre-school children in the UK Thumbnail


Authors

Louise Condon

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Dr Stuart McClean Stuart.Mcclean@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor Public Health (Health & Wellbeing)

Luiza McRae



Abstract

AIM: To explore parents' experiences of using child health services for their pre-school children post-migration. BACKGROUND: Migrating between countries necessitates movement and adjustment between systems of healthcare. Children of migrants are known to have poorer health than local children on some measures and are less likely to access primary care. In the United Kingdom (UK), children are offered a preventive Healthy Child programme in addition to reactive services; this programme consists of health reviews and immunisations with some contacts delivered in the home by public health nurses. METHODS: Five focus groups were held in a city in South West England. Participants were parents of pre-school children (n = 28) who had migrated to the UK from Romania, Poland, Pakistan or Somalia within the last 10 years. Groups selected included both 'new migrants' (from countries which acceded to the European Union in the 2000s) and those from communities long-established in the UK (Somali and Pakistani). One focus group consisted of parents of Roma ethnicity. Interpreters co-facilitated focus groups. FINDINGS: Participants described profound differences between child health services in the UK and in their country of origin, with the extent of difference varying according to nationality and ethnic group. All appreciated services free at the point of delivery and an equitable service offered to all children. Primary care services such as treatment of minor illness and immunisation were familiar, but most parents expected doctors rather than nurses to deliver these. Proactive child health promotion was unfamiliar, and some perceived this service as intruding on parental autonomy. Migrants are not a homogenous group, but there are commonalities in migrant parents' experiences of UK child health services. When adjusting to a new healthcare system, migrants negotiate differences in service provision and also a changing relationship between family and state.

Citation

Condon, L., McClean, S., & McRae, L. (2020). ‘Differences between the earth and the sky’: Migrant parents’ experiences of child health services for pre-school children in the UK. Primary Health Care Research and Development, 21(e29), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1463423620000213

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 19, 2020
Online Publication Date Aug 17, 2020
Publication Date Aug 17, 2020
Deposit Date Aug 25, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Primary Health Care Research & Development
Print ISSN 1463-4236
Electronic ISSN 1477-1128
Publisher Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 21
Issue e29
Pages 1-8
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/s1463423620000213
Keywords child health; child health promotion; migrant health; primary care; qualitative methods; Roma; surveillance
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/6632333
Additional Information Copyright: © The Author(s) 2020; License: This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.; Free to read: This content has been made available to all.

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Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2020
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.







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