Institute of Medical Management and Health Sciences, University of Bayreuth, Prieserstr. 2, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
Department of Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jan 10;18(2):519. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18020519.
In Germany, asylum seekers and refugees (AS&Rs) face challenges when accessing healthcare services including medicines. The aim of this study was to explore the barriers to accessing medicines among Syrian AS&Rs in the state of North Rheine-Westphalia, and to provide an understanding of their perspectives towards taking medicines that contain alcohol or pork products. This study is based on a cross-sectional survey using a combination of sampling methods. We used descriptive statistics to analyze quantitative data. Participants' answers to an open-ended question yielded qualitative data that were categorized based on the thematic areas they discussed or addressed. Among the 1641 respondents, language barriers had more of an effect on the access to medicines than any other factor studied. The effect of language barriers on access to medicines was more pronounced for female participants, those who were older than 50 years, and participants who had chronic diseases in comparison to the other groups of participants. Male participants and those younger than 50 years of age showed more acceptance towards taking medicines that contain alcohol or pork products. Based on our results, we recommend providing more support for AS&Rs to learn the German language, particularly for female refugees, older refugees, and those with chronic diseases or disabilities. We also recommend providing translated medical leaflets for patients who wish to receive them in their native language. Healthcare providers should try to consider the special conditions of AS&Rs patients and take into account their perspectives about treatments and diseases.
在德国，寻求庇护者和难民（AS&Rs）在获得医疗服务（包括药品）方面面临挑战。本研究旨在探讨北莱茵-威斯特法伦州叙利亚 AS&Rs 获得药品的障碍，并了解他们对服用含酒精或猪肉制品药品的看法。本研究基于使用混合抽样方法的横断面调查。我们使用描述性统计来分析定量数据。参与者对开放式问题的回答产生了定性数据，这些数据根据他们讨论或涉及的主题领域进行了分类。在 1641 名受访者中，语言障碍对获得药品的影响大于研究中其他任何因素。与其他组参与者相比，语言障碍对女性参与者、年龄在 50 岁以上的参与者和患有慢性疾病的参与者获得药品的影响更为明显。男性参与者和年龄在 50 岁以下的参与者对服用含酒精或猪肉制品的药品表现出更高的接受度。基于我们的结果，我们建议为 AS&Rs 提供更多学习德语的支持，特别是为女性难民、老年难民以及患有慢性疾病或残疾的难民提供支持。我们还建议为希望以母语获得医疗传单的患者提供翻译医疗传单。医疗保健提供者应努力考虑 AS&Rs 患者的特殊情况，并考虑他们对治疗和疾病的看法。
