Addiction among Russian and Turkish migrants in Germany: developing prevention strategies

Abstract

Although about 20% of German population are migrants not enough knowledge exists about health status, alcohol and tobacco addiction and preventive health behaviors with respect to addiction in migrants. The largest populations of migrants in Germany are Turks and Russians. The goal of the project presented in this paper is to investigate the relationship between health status, alcohol and tobacco addiction and preventive health behaviors of Russian and Turkish speaking migrants in Hannover, Germany. Additionally, the project deals with the question of possible barriers migrants experience on the way to the health service system in Germany. For example, cultural differences in understanding of health and decease concepts, language difficulties, lack of knowledge about possible preventive measures and lack of information in mother tongue could be possible barriers that make the access to a healthy way of living more difficult for migrants. To investigate possible barriers migrants experience we apply the mother tongue mediator approach that allows better access to the community of migrants, helps to overcome cultural differences in understanding of health related concepts, and makes the information on preventive behaviors in community of migrants more acceptable. Results of a pilot study in Russian speaking migrants (N=18) are in line with hypotheses. 28.6% of the sample report alcohol addiction, high level of psychological distress and depression, low level of perceived social support and low level of physical health. Language difficulties and lack of bilingual information on health topics are most frequent barriers experienced in this sample.