“A glass half-full of opportunities” The perceptions and lived experiences of Arabic-speaking immigrants using digital primary healthcare applications in Scania, Sweden. A qualitative content analysis study.
(2021) MPHN40 20211Social Medicine and Global Health
- Abstract
- Abstract
Background: There is growing concern in Sweden about health inequity and unequal access to traditional primary healthcare among different socio-economic groups, predominantly immigrants. The use of information and communication technology in the health sector has been suggested as a potential tool to overcome healthcare accessibility and equity. Digital primary healthcare in Sweden was initiated in 2014, and it is still an under-researched area with no studies addressing the experiences of any immigrant groups on the use of digital primary healthcare in a Swedish setting.
Aim: The overall aim of this study is to understand what the introduction of digital primary healthcare services means to Arabic-speaking immigrants in Scania,... (More) - Abstract
Background: There is growing concern in Sweden about health inequity and unequal access to traditional primary healthcare among different socio-economic groups, predominantly immigrants. The use of information and communication technology in the health sector has been suggested as a potential tool to overcome healthcare accessibility and equity. Digital primary healthcare in Sweden was initiated in 2014, and it is still an under-researched area with no studies addressing the experiences of any immigrant groups on the use of digital primary healthcare in a Swedish setting.
Aim: The overall aim of this study is to understand what the introduction of digital primary healthcare services means to Arabic-speaking immigrants in Scania, Sweden, and to discuss the potential role of digital primary healthcare in increasing primary healthcare access and equity.
Methods: Through a qualitative content analysis, ten in-depth individual interviews were conducted, with in order to analyze the manifest and latent meaning of the informants’ experiences.
Findings: Three overarching themes emerged from the analysis. Turning obstacles into advantages explains that digital primary healthcare was able to turn participant’s challenges at traditional primary healthcare into advantages. Resembling a roller coaster ride, enjoyable to those who can make it, but only for a while illustrates that digital primary healthcare works well but only for uncomplicated medical cases and that access requires digital literacy and different levels of Swedish/English depending on the provider used. Seeing a glass half-full of opportunities illustrates how participants see themselves as being part of the digital primary healthcare future. However, they still experienced a need for further development of the tools to increase accessibility.
Conclusion: Digital primary healthcare offers potential solutions for the challenges experienced by immigrant groups with traditional primary healthcare; however, there are important limitations to accessibility and usage of the model. Offering bilingual consultation is the only current feasible digital option for immigrants who struggle with the Swedish language. Nonetheless, accessing these digital platforms still require basic Swedish/English and digital literacy for navigation and a Swedish/English proficiency for reporting a medical case, depending on the selected provider. As for the usage limitation, digital primary healthcare works only for mild health conditions. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Many Swedish studies reported that different socio-economic groups, particularly immigrants are being disadvantaged in accessing and receiving equal care within the traditional Swedish primary healthcare (PHC) centers. The use of technology in health, like the internet and mobile phones, are considered very promising in tackling challenges like equity, healthcare accessibility and the increasing cost of healthcare. Digital primary healthcare in Sweden has been growing rapidly since it started in 2014. The concept of utilizing digital primary healthcare has become increasingly accepted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, where in 2020 the total number of digital consultations in Sweden, doubled when compared to 2019. However, digital primary... (More)
- Many Swedish studies reported that different socio-economic groups, particularly immigrants are being disadvantaged in accessing and receiving equal care within the traditional Swedish primary healthcare (PHC) centers. The use of technology in health, like the internet and mobile phones, are considered very promising in tackling challenges like equity, healthcare accessibility and the increasing cost of healthcare. Digital primary healthcare in Sweden has been growing rapidly since it started in 2014. The concept of utilizing digital primary healthcare has become increasingly accepted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, where in 2020 the total number of digital consultations in Sweden, doubled when compared to 2019. However, digital primary healthcare is in its infancy stage, where there is little known about the personal experiences of non-Swedish speaking immigrants, using digital primary healthcare within Sweden. Therefore, this thesis study was conducted to understand what the introduction of digital primary healthcare means for Arabic-speaking immigrants in Scania, Sweden, and to discuss the potential of digitalization in improving access to primary healthcare and health equity. The Arabic group was chosen because they are one of the largest immigrant groups in Sweden.
This thesis study found after analyzing ten individual interviews that digital primary healthcare offers possible solutions to the challenges experienced by immigrants at traditional primary healthcare in Sweden, but the digital model has its limitations in terms of accessibility and usage. Offering consultations with clinicians that can speak specific languages improves access for immigrants who cannot speak fluent Swedish. However, accessing the applications requires basic Swedish/English and digital literacy, and proficiency in Swedish/English in the reporting section, depending on the selected provider. Providers who offer their services only in Swedish require an advanced level of Swedish to meet a digital doctor. Digital primary healthcare is well suited for mild medical conditions only, which means that traditional primary healthcare and digital primary healthcare complement each other. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9066335
- author
- Jabari, Wasim LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MPHN40 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Digital health, Digital primary care, Primary care, Telehealth, Telemedicine, Health Systems, Equity, Equality, Accessibility, Experiences, Qualitative, Patients, Sweden
- language
- English
- id
- 9066335
- date added to LUP
- 2021-11-03 09:21:06
- date last changed
- 2021-11-03 09:21:06
@misc{9066335,
abstract = {{Abstract
Background: There is growing concern in Sweden about health inequity and unequal access to traditional primary healthcare among different socio-economic groups, predominantly immigrants. The use of information and communication technology in the health sector has been suggested as a potential tool to overcome healthcare accessibility and equity. Digital primary healthcare in Sweden was initiated in 2014, and it is still an under-researched area with no studies addressing the experiences of any immigrant groups on the use of digital primary healthcare in a Swedish setting.
Aim: The overall aim of this study is to understand what the introduction of digital primary healthcare services means to Arabic-speaking immigrants in Scania, Sweden, and to discuss the potential role of digital primary healthcare in increasing primary healthcare access and equity.
Methods: Through a qualitative content analysis, ten in-depth individual interviews were conducted, with in order to analyze the manifest and latent meaning of the informants’ experiences.
Findings: Three overarching themes emerged from the analysis. Turning obstacles into advantages explains that digital primary healthcare was able to turn participant’s challenges at traditional primary healthcare into advantages. Resembling a roller coaster ride, enjoyable to those who can make it, but only for a while illustrates that digital primary healthcare works well but only for uncomplicated medical cases and that access requires digital literacy and different levels of Swedish/English depending on the provider used. Seeing a glass half-full of opportunities illustrates how participants see themselves as being part of the digital primary healthcare future. However, they still experienced a need for further development of the tools to increase accessibility.
Conclusion: Digital primary healthcare offers potential solutions for the challenges experienced by immigrant groups with traditional primary healthcare; however, there are important limitations to accessibility and usage of the model. Offering bilingual consultation is the only current feasible digital option for immigrants who struggle with the Swedish language. Nonetheless, accessing these digital platforms still require basic Swedish/English and digital literacy for navigation and a Swedish/English proficiency for reporting a medical case, depending on the selected provider. As for the usage limitation, digital primary healthcare works only for mild health conditions.}},
author = {{Jabari, Wasim}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{“A glass half-full of opportunities” The perceptions and lived experiences of Arabic-speaking immigrants using digital primary healthcare applications in Scania, Sweden. A qualitative content analysis study.}},
year = {{2021}},
}