Chinese immigrants in Portugal are often considered an “invisible minority” in our health services when compared to other immigrant communities, even though they represent the 7th largest foreign community in Portugal, with more than 26 thousand citizens.
A team from CINTESIS/Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto wanted to know what are the reasons that may be keeping Chinese immigrants away from the health units in our country and what can be done to meet their needs.
The researchers analyzed how 304 Chinese citizens, aged 18 years or older and living in Portugal for at least one year, access Portuguese health services. The work involved completing a questionnaire, in Portuguese and in Mandarin.
The results, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, indicate that communication difficulties and a lack of knowledge of Chinese habits on the part of health professionals are the main barriers to accessing the health system.
“This study reveals that language and cultural barriers may condition the access of the Chinese immigrant population to the health system. About one third of Chinese immigrants consider that opening hours are a conditioning factor in access to public health services, which is probably related to their long working hours”, indicate the authors, coordinated by Rui Nunes, a researcher at CINTESIS and professor at FMUP.
According to the authors, 93% of the Chinese immigrants had already sought health care in Portugal. However, more than half of these immigrants (54%) admitted having travelled to their country of origin to monitor or treat health problems, namely musculoskeletal and stomach diseases. They were mainly older, less educated and had been living in Portugal longer. Among the main reasons for that option were the trust in the health care provided in China, the nationality of the health professionals, the fact that they understood their habits and the family support.
Almost all of the respondents had already used the so-called “western medicine”, but around 74% admitted having asked family and friends living in China to send them Traditional Chinese Medicine products to fight mainly colds and the flu.
In conclusion, this research indicates that “Chinese immigrants have access to Portuguese health services, but that there is still a need to adopt health policies that increase the equity of access to care by this community”.
According to Rui Nunes, Professor at FMUP, “these results demonstrate the importance of modernizing the health system, especially the National Health Service (NHS), so that the right to health protection, as provided for in our Constitution, is an effective right enjoyed by all, and not just by a few. Even more so when Portugal welcomes more and more immigrants from different origins, who should look at the health system as a decisive factor in choosing our country to live”.
To facilitate the access of Chinese immigrants to health care in Portugal, the researchers recommend, for example, making national health professionals aware of the cultural habits of that population, but also offering Mandarin language courses to health professionals.
These two measures would facilitate communication between health professionals and Chinese immigrants, with a direct impact on the quality of the services provided. Other ideas include the creation of a support group composed of professionals with knowledge of Mandarin and Chinese culture and the creation of guides and dossiers aimed at professionals.
The authors of this work are Sandra Lopes Aparício (CINTESIS), Ivone Duarte, Luísa Castro and Rui Nunes (Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto/CINTESIS).