New Report on Migrant Women’s Attitudes toward Fertility, Motherhood and Sexual Health Services in Ireland

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New Report on Migrant Women’s Attitudes toward Fertility, Motherhood and Sexual Health Services in Ireland

– Reported, 15  August 2012

 

 

A new qualitative study on migrant women’s attitudes toward sexual health and their experiences of sexual and reproductive health services in Ireland was published today by the HSE Crisis Pregnancy Programme as part of the Sexual Health Awareness Week (SHAW) organised by the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland. The new study focuses on four communities within the overall migrant and minority ethnic community in Ireland – Chinese, Nigerian, Polish and Muslim. Eighty-one women aged between eighteen and thirty years were interviewed on their experiences, views and needs in relation to sexual and reproductive health. The study was led by Dr. Catherine Conlon from Trinity College Dublin.
The research shows that while migrant women share many perspectives with Irish women in how they feel about fertility, sex and motherhood, there are some notable differences. Migrant women described closer control and monitoring of female sexual behaviour by parents and communities in their countries of origin, than they perceived to be the case in Ireland. There were lower levels of sexual health knowledge and many reports of inconsistent use of contraception, leading to increased risk of crisis pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection. There were also high levels of variation in the knowledge and experiences of migrant women of sexual and reproductive health services in Ireland.

Commenting on the study, Dr. Stephanie O’Keeffe, Director of the Crisis Pregnancy Programme said: “Although this qualitative study is not representative of migrant women’s experiences, it provides some important insights. It is important that we ensure migrant women are aware of the range of reproductive and sexual health services available to them, particularly crisis pregnancy counselling services and that these services are culturally sensitive. Crisis pregnancy counselling services funded by the Crisis Pregnancy Programme have been supported to accommodate migrant women, but a challenge remains with regard to increasing awareness of these services within migrant communities”.

There were clear and distinct patterns in how women from the different groups viewed and accessed the Irish healthcare system and sexual and reproductive health services. Some women interviewed in the study still prefer to use healthcare services within their own communities or even their own countries of origin, either because they believe Irish healthcare will not fully meet their needs or because they do not know about the services available to them, or how to access them. Often this resulted in women establishing no contact with local sexual and reproductive health services, leaving them at risk of being unable to avail of such supports and services locally if the need arose.

The Chinese women interviewed in this study reported self-diagnosing medical conditions and managing health issues using a combination of medicines brought from home or bought over the counter. This entailed buying contraceptives in bulk when on a return visit home, asking someone in China to post contraception, ordering contraceptives over the internet or acquiring contraception from someone in one’s own network outside of the health service.

The women from Poland reported retaining very strong connections to their home country, including their health service providers in Poland. A striking feature of Polish women’s accounts was the expectation that all sexual health matters would be dealt with by a gynaecologist rather than by a general practitioner within the primary health care system. This caused some Polish women to see the Irish maternity system as less specialised, though others preferred the Irish maternity system. Polish women also obtained medical supplies including contraceptives in Poland for use when in Ireland.

In contrast, the young Muslim women in the study were mostly second-generation migrants and were integrated into the Irish health system through their families. Participants in this group referred to how cultural silences and a sense of shame in relation to sexuality inhibited them asking a GP about sexual health services. Cost featured as a barrier for those who did not have a medical card in their own right or were not willing to trust the family GP with keeping their consultation regarding sexual issues confidential.

Dr. O’Keeffe continued: “The study findings provide an important direction for service providers and policymakers in terms of making sure migrant women know the services that are available to them and ensuring that women experience culturally-sensitive care when they access any part of the healthcare system. There are a number of resources that will be useful to healthcare staff in making their service more culturally sensitive. The HSE Intercultural Guide provides practical information to health and social care providers on culturally appropriate healthcare. The Emergency Multilingual Aid supports health and social care providers to communicate more effectively with patients and service users in emergency or non-elective situations. Additional sets of guidelines on interpretation and translation have been developed and widely distributed across the HSE”.

Credits: http://www.hse.ie/  .  

 

 

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