Exploring gendered differences among polish migrants in the UK in problematic drinking and pathways into and through alcohol treatment

Abstract

Few studies have focused on the gendered differences amongst Polish migrants in their use of alcohol or access to treatment services. This study explored the divergent pathways through alcohol use, misuse and treatment access in a group of Polish migrants in London. Using an intersectionality framework we examine the ways that social attitudes toward gender in both communities and access to services related to migrant status and class are experienced. With a view to informing treatment services we discuss how a better understanding of these pathways, and the factors likely to influence them, can be used to address challenges experienced by Polish migrant women with problematic alcohol use.

Use of Intersectionality Theory in Interventional Health Research in High-Income Countries: A Scoping Review

“…There was substantial heterogeneity in terms of the target populations. Included populations were: health researchers [25]; Polish migrants [26]; mental health service users [27]; women on (or previously on) opioid substitution treatment [28]; single adults in receipt of welfare for housing [29]; pregnant/postpartum women [30]; Asian men affected by mental illness [31]; people who smoke tobacco [32]; people receiving individual mental health counselling [33]; youth at risk of sexual exploitation [34]; homeless women [35]; Latina women who had experienced interpersonal violence [36]. The number of participants varied between 17 and 415, with lower sample sizes in the qualitative studies.…”

“…There was heterogeneity regarding which intersections (e.g., sex X ethnicity X age), although SES, ethnicity and gender were considered by eight out of the twelve included studies. Eight studies used intersectionality to analyse the association between inequality axes and intervention outcomes [26][27][28][29][31][32][33]35]. The role of intersectionality within these studies was mainly related to the interpretation of the findings in terms of cross-cutting inequalities.…”

“…The role of intersectionality within these studies was mainly related to the interpretation of the findings in terms of cross-cutting inequalities. Four of these studies analysed mental health related problems [27,31,33,35], one study focused on smoking cessation [32], one on housing [29], one on alcohol abuse and one on drug abuse [26,28]. There were considerable differences in the use of intersectionality.…”

“…There were considerable differences in the use of intersectionality. Whilst, in some studies, intersectionality clearly structured the analysis of the Eight studies used intersectionality to analyse the association between inequality axes and intervention outcomes [26][27][28][29][31][32][33]35]. The role of intersectionality within these studies was mainly related to the interpretation of the findings in terms of cross-cutting inequalities.…”

“…This study found that low household income was related to continued smoking but identified no interaction between marginalised attributes and relapse. Gleeson et al [26] explored associations between social attitudes towards gender and access to services related to migrant status and social class according. Their findings suggested that Polish female migrants accessing alcohol-related services face barriers including social stigma and sexist attitudes towards women, and that these interact to create negative outcomes.…”