Page 20 - S. Ličen, I. Karnjuš, & M. Prosen (Eds.). (2019). Women, migrations and health: Ensuring transcultural healthcare. Koper, University of Primorska Press.
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their experiences. Some participants were more actively involved in the dis-
cussion.

The students – future healthcare professionals – participating in the focus
groups say they treat all patients in the same way, whether they are migrants
or Slovenian citizens. Still, they think that migrants do not respect their ad-
vice, sometimes they pretend to be sick.

Migrants are usually most afraid that the healthcare service will be too ex-
pensive for them. Accordingly, they delaying visiting a doctor, but that is un-
necessary.

One student, a nursing student from the surroundings of Izola, explained
there are language problems, especially with young Albanian mothers. The
staff thus often need considerable time in contact with them compared to
a Slovenian patient. The biggest problems are due to the lack of language
knowledge. All participants agreed.

Poor communication practices between the healthcare professional and
the patient can lead to a variety of problems.

One student with practice with female migrants warned of the ‘Albanian
mothers’ improper treatment of their children,’ which she considers to be the
result of ignoring the advice given by nurses. It is very possible that this neg-
ative opinion mainly arises from the poor training of health professionals in
the language area (i.e. poor communication), as well as unfamiliarity with dif-
ferent cultural practices and customs.

In the focus group, some student health professionals referred to the linear
development of culture. This is a belief that emerged in the 19th and 20th
centuries, and is nowadays unaccepted and irrelevant.

One student who is also a medical worker linked ‘progression’ and ‘social-
isation’ with a better understanding of other EU languages (e.g. Slovenian
and English) and everyday family practices.

Migrants’ Reliance on Slovenian Healthcare
The participants believed that migrants, especially females, only visit a doc-
tor when the situation is urgent. There is a reluctance to visit the doctor and
distrust in doctors. The reasons mentioned by the migrants are ignorance of
the situation, the environment and language, followed by a fear of having to
pay, and a fear of excessive costs.

Visiting Doctors
One of the crucial problems/obstacles migrants experiences concerns visit-
ing a doctor. They only see a doctor when it is truly necessary and urgent.

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