Institute of General Practice and Primary Care, Chair of General Practice I and Interprofessional Care, Witten/Herdecke University, Alfred-Herrhausen-Str. 50, 58448, Witten, Germany.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2024 May 4;24(1):585. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-11052-6.
The 5.8 million Ukrainian refugees arriving in European countries must navigate varying healthcare systems and different and often unknown languages in their respective host countries. To date, there has been little exploration of the experiences, perceived differences, information and support needs of these refugees regarding the use of healthcare in Germany.
We conducted ten qualitative interviews with Ukrainian refugees living in Germany from February to May 2023, using Ukrainian, English and German language. The transcribed interviews were analysed using the qualitative content analysis method according to Kuckartz and Rädiker with the MAXQDA software.
In general, participants consistently had a positive experience of the German healthcare system, particularly regarding the quality of treatments and insurance. Differences have been reported in the structure of the healthcare systems. The Ukrainian healthcare system is divided into private and state sectors, with no mandatory insurance and frequent out-of-pocket payments. Pathways differ and tend to focus more on clinics and private doctors. General practitioners, often working in less well-equipped offices, have only recently gained prominence due to healthcare system reforms. Initiating contact with doctors is often easier, with much shorter waiting times compared to Germany. Interviewees often found the prescription requirements for many medications in Germany to be unusual. However, the mentioned differences in healthcare result in unmet information needs among the refugees, especially related to communication, navigating the healthcare system, health insurance, waiting times and medication access. These needs were often addressed through personal internet research and informal (social media) networks because of lacking official information provided during or after their arrival.
Despite the positive experiences of Ukrainian refugees in the German healthcare system, differences in the systems and language barriers led to barriers using healthcare and information needs among refugees. The dissemination of information regarding characteristics of the German health care system is crucial for successful integration but is currently lacking.
German Clinical Trials Register: DRKS00030942, date of registration: 29.12.2022.
抵达欧洲国家的 580 万乌克兰难民必须在各自的东道国面对不同的医疗保健系统和语言。迄今为止，对于这些难民在德国使用医疗保健方面的经验、感知差异、信息和支持需求，几乎没有探索。
我们于 2023 年 2 月至 5 月期间，使用乌克兰语、英语和德语对居住在德国的 10 名乌克兰难民进行了十次定性访谈。根据 Kuckartz 和 Rädiker 的方法，使用 MAXQDA 软件对转录的访谈进行了定性内容分析。
总的来说，参与者对德国的医疗保健系统评价积极，特别是在治疗质量和保险方面。报告称医疗保健系统的结构存在差异。乌克兰的医疗保健系统分为私人和国家部门，没有强制性保险，经常需要自掏腰包。医疗保健系统的路径不同，往往更侧重于诊所和私人医生。由于医疗保健系统改革，最近才开始重视普通科医生，他们通常在设备较差的办公室工作。与德国相比，与医生联系通常更容易，等待时间更短。受访者经常发现德国许多药物的处方要求不同。然而，难民中存在未满足的信息需求，特别是与沟通、医疗保健系统导航、健康保险、等待时间和药物获取有关，这些差异导致了这些需求。这些需求通常通过个人互联网研究和非正式（社交媒体）网络来解决，因为在他们抵达期间或之后缺乏官方信息。
尽管乌克兰难民对德国的医疗保健系统有积极的体验，但系统的差异和语言障碍导致难民在使用医疗保健和获取信息方面存在障碍。传播有关德国医疗保健系统特征的信息对于成功融入至关重要，但目前却缺乏这种信息。
德国临床试验注册处：DRKS00030942，注册日期：2022 年 12 月 29 日。
