Affiliated Stomatological Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, 221000, China.
School of Education, Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
Int J Equity Health. 2024 Sep 19;23(1):189. doi: 10.1186/s12939-024-02273-6.
Australia hosts over 680,000 international students, contributing $47.8 billion to the Australian economy in 2023, and Chinese students rank first among all nationalities. However, despite their considerable numbers, research focusing on their access to healthcare services is scant. This study aimed to explore barriers and supports regarding the utilisation of healthcare services among Chinese international students studying in Australia.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Chinese between October and December 2023 with 25 Chinese international students (age range, 19-30; female/male, n = 18/7; undergraduate/postgraduate/doctoral, n = 1/18/6) enrolled in three Australian universities to understand the healthcare challenges they encountered and the coping strategies they recommended. These interviews were recorded, and thematic analysis was applied to the interview data. An adapted social-ecological model was used to identify barriers and pragmatic strategies to deal with the challenges at different levels.
Chinese international students in Australia faced healthcare barriers at different levels. Individual barriers included language and cultural disparities, lack of knowledge about the healthcare system, and reluctance to seek help. Institutional barriers involved high costs, difficulties regarding appointments, and procedures related to the referral system. Policy barriers included insurance coverage and reimbursement issues. The students interviewed for this study proposed individual-level strategies, such as trying various methods to reduce language barriers, seeking information online, and using online resources and consultations. A central appointment platform and multilingual medical service were recommended from students to medical institutions, while medical service guidance and psychological support were suggested to education institutions. Higher-level strategies were also reported, which were mainly pertaining to insurance terms and coverage for overseas students and improving the accessibility of medical information.
Our study identifies barriers to healthcare access for Chinese international students in Australia, including culture-specific challenges. To mitigate these issues, we recommend self-directed health promotion, targeted support by education institutions, enhanced cross-cultural communication and expanded telemedicine by hospitals, and attention to insurance coverage. Future research should explore optimising these approaches to improve support systems and policy frameworks.
澳大利亚拥有超过 68 万名国际留学生，2023 年为澳大利亚经济贡献了 478 亿澳元，其中中国留学生在所有国家中排名第一。然而，尽管他们的数量相当可观，但针对他们获得医疗保健服务的研究却很少。本研究旨在探讨在澳大利亚学习的中国国际学生使用医疗保健服务的障碍和支持因素。
2023 年 10 月至 12 月，我们以中文对 25 名中国国际学生（年龄 19-30 岁；女性/男性，n=18/7；本科生/研究生/博士生，n=1/18/6）进行了半结构式访谈，这些学生就读于澳大利亚的三所大学，旨在了解他们所遇到的医疗保健挑战以及他们推荐的应对策略。这些访谈被记录下来，并对访谈数据进行了主题分析。采用修正的社会生态模型来确定不同层次的障碍和应对挑战的实用策略。
在澳大利亚的中国国际学生在医疗保健方面面临着不同层次的障碍。个人障碍包括语言和文化差异、对医疗保健系统缺乏了解以及不愿寻求帮助。机构障碍包括高费用、预约困难以及与转诊系统相关的程序。政策障碍包括保险覆盖范围和报销问题。接受采访的学生提出了个人层面的策略，例如尝试各种方法来减少语言障碍、在线寻找信息以及使用在线资源和咨询。学生们向医疗机构建议设立中央预约平台和多语种医疗服务，向教育机构建议提供医疗服务指导和心理支持。研究还报告了更高层次的策略，主要涉及留学生的保险条款和覆盖范围以及提高医疗信息的可及性。
本研究确定了澳大利亚中国国际学生获得医疗保健服务的障碍，包括特定于文化的挑战。为了缓解这些问题，我们建议通过自我保健促进、教育机构的有针对性支持、增强跨文化交流和扩大医院远程医疗以及关注保险范围来改善支持系统和政策框架。未来的研究应探讨优化这些方法以改善支持系统和政策框架。
