This module focused on Australian migrant populations
and accessibility to healthcare services. Key topics included: an Australian
immigration history overview and how government policy shaped post-war
migration (Hugo, 2014); identification of social and health-related issues of
the migrant population; and how language barriers and low health literacy can
limit accessibility to healthcare services. Three interviews involving migrants
of different backgrounds were also included.
The first interviewee was Mark, an English-speaking,
planned migrant from South Africa. Mark spoke of having no problems with
accessing Medicare services and finding employment. Conversely, Asif, a Pakistan
refugee was interviewed. He spoke of his reliance on friends to support
him entirely for two years; and how he had no access to employment or Medicare
during that time, instead relying on Red Cross to pay his medical fees. English
is Asif’s second language, which I admittedly found difficult to understand. I
cannot imagine how hard and foreign Australia must be for him. I have since
discovered that refugees face greater challenges than planned migrants in
having their healthcare needs met- due to language barriers and lack of
resources (Grant, Parry, & Guerin, 2013). Mercy was the last interviewee- a
planned migrant from Ghana, who works as a nurse and midwife. Mercy outlined
the importance of never stereotyping patients when providing
healthcare, and to instead ask what their individual needs are.
Twenty percent of Australians are overseas-born- of
which, more than half originated from non-English speaking countries (Gill
& Babacan, 2012, p. 46). Therefore, as a nurse, I will independently
research various cultures in order to gain a broader understanding. However, I
will never make presumptions, because I also recognise and respect that people
from different nationalities can sometimes have definite cultural boundaries
(Plaza del Pino, Soriano, & Higginbottom, 2013). Instead, I will customise individual
healthcare plans based upon open communication, and utilise interpreter services
to help overcome language barriers. If an interpreter is unavailable, then I
will use visual aids and other pictorial information to address health literacy
and language problems (Gill & Babacan, 2012).
REFERENCES
Gill, G., & Babacan, H. (2012). Developing a
cultural responsiveness framework in healthcare systems: an Australian
example. Diversity & Equality in Health & Care, 9(1),
45-55. Retrieved from http://diversityhealthcare.imedpub.com/volume-issue.php?volume=Volume%209,%20Issue%201&&year=2012
Grant, J., Parry, Y., & Guerin, P. (2013). An
investigation of culturally competent terminology in healthcare policy finds
ambiguity and lack of definition. Australian & New Zealand Journal
of Public Health, 37(3), 250-256.
doi:10.1111/1753-6405.12067
Hugo, G. (2014). Change and continuity in Australian
international migration policy. International Migration Review, 48(3),
868-890. doi:10.1111/imre.12120
Our Health Australia. (2012, Oct 10). Our Health -
Australian consumers share their views and experiences [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmXUbupZctM
Plaza del Pino, F., Soriano, E., & Higginbottom,
G. (2013). Sociocultural and linguistic boundaries influencing intercultural
communication between nurses and Moroccan patients in southern Spain: A focused
ethnography. BMC Nursing, 12(1), 14.
doi:10.1186/1472-6955-12-14
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