IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v334y2023ics0277953623005786.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Response to provide key health services to Ukrainian refugees: The overview and implementation studies

Author

Listed:
  • Biesiada, Aleksander
  • Mastalerz-Migas, Agnieszka
  • Babicki, Mateusz

Abstract

The outbreak of war in Ukraine has contributed to the largest migration crisis in this part of Europe since the Second World War. In a short period of time, several million refugees of different ages and with different health needs have arrived in Poland. This study aims to assess the health problems of Ukrainian refugees, evaluate the barriers faced by primary care physicians (PCPs), and analyse and evaluate the system solutions available (including the use of modern information technology) to address them. Methodology: For this purpose, an original questionnaire distributed to PCPs in Poland was created and a literature review of implemented system solutions was conducted. The survey was conducted between the 3rd-10th April 2022–45 days after the outbreak of the war. The survey was repeated between 20th January and February 15, 2023. Results: The survey was completed by 402 physicians who provided health care to refugees at that time. There were 252 respondents in the first stage of the study while 150 PCPs took part in the repeat survey. The findings of the survey revealed that the most common health problems among refugees were infections, regardless of age. The biggest barrier to providing care to refugees was the lack of available medical records and language difficulties. During the first months of the refugee influx in Poland, many – both systemic and grassroot – solutions were implemented to improve the quality of health care for refugees. Conclusions: According to PCPs, the language barrier and the lack of previous medical records are key constraints when providing medical care to refugees. The health needs of refugees and the difficulties in providing care for them require constant monitoring and implementation of appropriate systemic solutions that can reduce the limitations in the daily work of medical staff.

Suggested Citation

  • Biesiada, Aleksander & Mastalerz-Migas, Agnieszka & Babicki, Mateusz, 2023. "Response to provide key health services to Ukrainian refugees: The overview and implementation studies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:334:y:2023:i:c:s0277953623005786
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116221
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953623005786
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116221?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alejandro Gil-Salmerón & Konstantinos Katsas & Elena Riza & Pania Karnaki & Athena Linos, 2021. "Access to Healthcare for Migrant Patients in Europe: Healthcare Discrimination and Translation Services," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-14, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Izolda Pristojkovic Suko & Magdalena Holter & Erwin Stolz & Elfriede Renate Greimel & Wolfgang Freidl, 2022. "Acculturation, Adaptation, and Health among Croatian Migrants in Austria and Ireland: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Madsen, Julian & Jobson, Laura & Slewa-Younan, Shameran & Li, Haoxiang & King, Kylie, 2024. "Mental health literacy among Arab men living in high-income Western countries: A systematic review and narrative synthesis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 346(C).
    3. Carolyne Njue & Nick Nicholas & Hamish Robertson & Angela Dawson, 2021. "Geographical Access to Child and Family Healthcare Services and Hospitals for Africa-Born Migrants and Refugees in NSW, Australia; A Spatial Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Consuelo Cruz-Riveros & Alfonso Urzúa & Carolina Lagos & Evelyn Parada, 2024. "Intention to Use Primary Healthcare Services among South–South Migrants," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(9), pages 1-12, September.
    5. Niraula, Ashika & Ratti, Nicole & Colley, Michele & Rosenberg, Mark & Ghassemi, Effat & Wilson, Kathi, 2023. "Negotiating precarity: Recent immigrants’ perceptions of waiting for public healthcare in Ontario, Canada," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:334:y:2023:i:c:s0277953623005786. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.