Victoria, Stepenova; Aaron, Poppleton; Ponsford, Ruth; (2024) Central and Eastern European migrants in the United Kingdom: A Scoping Review of the Reasons for Utilisation of Transnational Healthcare. Health Expectations. ISSN 1369-6513 https://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/id/eprint/4673188 (In Press)
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Abstract
Background: An estimated 2.2 million people from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) live in the United Kingdom. It has been documented that CEE migrants underutilise health services in the UK, and as an alternative, seek healthcare in their home country. However, reasons for seeking healthcare abroad are not always clear. This review aims to identify the reasons for uptake of transnational healthcare among CEE migrants resident in the UK. Methods: Informed by discussions with community members, medical stakeholders and academics, a systematic scoping review was undertaken following the 9-stage Joanna Briggs Institute framework for scoping reviews. A search strategy with MeSH terms, where relevant, was used and adapted in five academic databases, two grey literature databases, and Google Scholar. Included records encompassed four concepts: migration, CEE nationalities, UK nations, healthcare utilisation, were written in English, and published between May 2004 and 2022. Data from the literature was coded, grouped, and organised into themes. Results: A total of 16 publications fulfilled the inclusion criteria. There is evidence that some CEE migrants exclusively use healthcare services in the UK. However, many CEE migrants utilise healthcare both in the UK and in their country of origin. Four themes were identified from the literature as to why migrants travelled to their country of origin for healthcare: cultural expectations of medical services, distrust in the UK National Health Service, barriers, and transnational ties. Conclusion: Push factors led CEE migrants to seek healthcare in their country of origin, facilitated by ongoing transnational ties. CEE migrants frequently combine visits to their country of origin with medical appointments. Utilising healthcare in their country of origin as opposed to the UK can result in fragmented and incomplete records of medications, medical tests, and surgeries and risk unnecessary treatments and complications. This review highlights the need for more targeted health outreach with CEE groups within the UK, as well as the need for further research on the impact of national events e.g. COVID-19 and Brexit on transnational healthcare seeking behaviours. Patient or Public Contribution: The concept for this scoping review was informed by discussions with community members, medical professionals and academics, which they identified as a current issue. The results of this scoping review were discussed with healthcare stakeholders.
Item Type | Article |
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Faculty and Department | Faculty of Public Health and Policy > Public Health, Environments and Society |
Elements ID | 226708 |
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