Expert opinion on "best practices" in the delivery of health care services to immigrants in Denmark.

INTRODUCTION

Delivery of health care to immigrants is an emerging field of interest. Immigrants are frequently characterised by health outcomes that are inferior to those of other groups with regard to morbidity and mortality. In addition, health professionals report difficulties associated with the encounter with immigrant patients.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A Delphi process with eight Danish experts from the field of immigrant health was performed as part of an EU project. The objective of the Delphi process was to investigate expert opinion on "best practice in the delivery of healthcare to immigrants". Initially, 60 factors were suggested by the experts. Next, these factors were summarised into 32 factors that the experts were invited to rate and, if possible, agree on.

RESULTS

The top 11 factors identified in the Delphi process were access to interpreters, quality of interpretation, ensuring medication compliance, having sufficient consultation time, coherence of offers, interdisciplinary collaboration, allocation of resources, the role of the practitioner, acknowledgement of the individual patient, education of health professionals and students and access to telephone interpretation to supplement other services.

CONCLUSION

The Delphi process can be a valuable tool in the investigation of expert opinion and may thereby help to guide future policy directives. In the light of the importance experts placed on access to interpreters and on the quality of the interpretation services offered, it seems as an untenable strategy to introduce as from June 2011 self-payment for interpretation services provided to immigrants who have stayed in the country for more than seven years.