Health Care Experiences and Perceived Barriers to Health Care Access: A Qualitative Study Among African Migrants in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China

Abstract

Guangzhou, one of China's largest cities and a main trading port in South China, has attracted many African businessmen and traders migrating to the city for financial gains. Previous research has explored the cultural and economic roles of this newly emerging population; however, little is known about their health care experiences while in China. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were used to assess health care experiences and perceived barriers to health care access among African migrants in Guangzhou, China. Overall, African migrants experienced various barriers to accessing health care and were dissatisfied with local health services. The principal barriers to care reported included affordability, legal issues, language barriers, and cultural differences. Facing multiple barriers, African migrants have limited access to care in Guangzhou. Local health settings are not accustomed to the African migrant population, suggesting that providing linguistically and culturally appropriate services may improve access to care for the migrants.

Overcoming barriers to health-care access: A qualitative study among African migrants in Guangzhou, China

“…This study utilized a qualitative study design to examine strategies that the African migrants use to overcome health care barriers and explore their perceptions of how to best address their health care needs. This work builds on our previous study, documenting that African migrants have limited access to local health services due to a combination of linguistic and cultural barriers (Lin et al, 2014). Our finding suggests that participants have adopted a number of strategies in response to these barriers.…”

“…To our knowledge, Guangzhou has a wide assortment of generalized and specialized hospitals that are either government or privately-owned. The public hospitals in Guangzhou, though available to foreigners, are not tailored to the needs and cultural practices of the foreigner community (Lin et al, 2014). One concern raised by our participants is the lack of formal medical interpreter services in such settings.…”

“…One concern raised by our participants is the lack of formal medical interpreter services in such settings. The actual quality of communications between doctors and patients is unknown, although our previous study reported that African migrants were not satisfied with the Chinese doctor's second language skills (Lin et al, 2014). These hospitals are mainly attended by local patients and use of languages other than Chinese is minimal; therefore, doctors in public hospitals may lack the second language skills needed to communicate with international patients.…”

“…Previous research has mainly focused on the economic and social roles of this newly emerging population (Bodomo, 2012; Li et al, 2009; Zhang, 2008); their health care experiences while in China have been relatively little studied. Our previous work showed that African migrants 1 in China face barriers to health care access, including affordability, legal issues, language barriers, and cultural differences (Lin et al, 2014). As part of a larger study of health care needs assessment among African migrants in Guangzhou, China, this study aimed to: (1) examine strategies that African migrants in Guangzhou have adopted in response to health care barriers; and (2) explore their perceptions of how to address their health care needs as their numbers continue to grow.…”

How African migrants in China cope with barriers to health care

“…2 Their quality of life and wellbeing were also affected by racial discrimination and visa policy restrictions. 2,3 In view of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, African migrants residing in Wuhan, Hubei province-the epicenter of the outbreak-might be more worried than ever. 4 According to AllAfrica, almost 5000 African students in Wuhan are lacking cash and food products during the current quarantine-lockdown period.…”