Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal.
Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences (MEDCIDS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 30;20(3):2442. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20032442.
International studies indicate that Chinese immigrants face barriers when trying to access healthcare in the host country. The aim of this study was to identify the barriers that Chinese immigrants face when accessing the Portuguese National Health Service. An observational, cross-sectional and quantitative study was carried out via a bilingual Portuguese/Mandarin self-completed paper questionnaire was applied. The study population consisted of individuals with Chinese nationality who were residing in mainland Portugal for at least one year and aged 18 years or over. A total of 304 individuals answered the questionnaire. The results show that 284 (93.4%) of the participants had already sought healthcare in Portugal. The participants identified language difficulties and health professionals' lack of knowledge of Chinese cultural habits as the most significant barriers to accessing healthcare in Portugal. Of a total of 165 participants who sought healthcare in China, confidence in treatment outcomes and health professionals' knowledge of Chinese cultural habits were the reasons given by 151 (91.5%) individuals. This study reveals the existence of linguistic and cultural barriers that can condition the access of the Chinese immigrant population to healthcare systems. Immigrants' access to healthcare can be promoted via policies that contribute to proficiency in the Portuguese language and medical literacy among the Chinese immigrant population. It can also be promoted by raising the awareness of health professionals to Chinese cultural habits.
国际研究表明，中国移民在试图在东道国获得医疗保健时面临障碍。本研究旨在确定中国移民在使用葡萄牙国家卫生服务时面临的障碍。通过双语葡萄牙语/普通话自填纸质问卷进行了观察性、横断面和定量研究。研究人群包括居住在葡萄牙大陆至少一年且年满 18 岁的中国国籍人士。共有 304 人回答了问卷。结果表明，284 名（93.4%）参与者已经在葡萄牙寻求过医疗保健。参与者认为语言困难和卫生专业人员对中国文化习惯的了解不足是在葡萄牙获得医疗保健的最大障碍。在总共 165 名在中国寻求医疗保健的参与者中，151 名（91.5%）参与者表示对治疗结果有信心和卫生专业人员对中国文化习惯的了解是他们选择在中国寻求医疗保健的原因。本研究揭示了语言和文化障碍的存在，这些障碍可能影响中国移民人群获得医疗保健系统的机会。通过促进葡萄牙语水平和中国移民人群医疗知识的政策，可以促进移民获得医疗保健。还可以通过提高卫生专业人员对中国文化习惯的认识来促进这一点。
