The Perception of Nurses about Migrants after the COVID-19 Pandemic: Close Contact Improves the Relationship

The dynamics of intercultural clinical encounters in times of pandemic crisis. Swedish healthcare providers' reflections on social norms in relation to sexual and reproductive healthcare

BACKGROUND

Experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic may help to better understand resilience, competences and skills for healthcare providers and the healthcare system. Within sexual and reproductive health inequalities for migrants exist and it is an area where promoting both cultural competency and healthcare equity in the clinical encounter is expected of healthcare providers yet can create tension. The aim is to explore healthcare providers experiences of encounters with migrants in the context of the pandemic and the subsequent changes in routines and norms.

METHODS

A qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with 31 healthcare providers working in sexual and reproductive healthcare in southern Sweden. Interviews were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic influencing how healthcare providers reflected on their experiences. Analysis was done using reflexive thematic data analysis.

FINDINGS

Healthcare providers reflected on how changes in routines increased the understanding of challenges and enablers in the intercultural encounter including the impact on communication and role of relatives and male partners. They emphasized the dynamics of culture in the clinical encounter and healthcare system through highlighting the importance of structural awareness, self-reflection and the flexibility of conducts and norms, often given a cultural connotation.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in changes of previously established routines directly affecting clinical encounters, which provided a unique opportunity for healthcare providers to reflect, with communication and self-reflection being discussed as central in complex encounters. It highlighted the dynamics of presumed deeply rooted cultural norms and the interplay with social factors affecting healthcare providers and patients alike.

[Communication with a culturally and linguistically diverse population from Primary Care]

The care of a culturally and linguistically diverse population is a challenge in primary health care due to language barriers and cultural differences. For this reason, good communication and cultural competence of health personnel is key within medical consultation. Thus, during consultations with this group of people, it is the doctor's duty to identify the patient's culture, their perception of the concept of health, in what way and to what extent they want to be informed, and the role they want to assign to the members of their family before the treatment process begins. For this reason, there are interventions that seek to optimize the care provided to these patients and mitigate the cultural barrier, including the use of multimodal digital tools, the use of translators or interpreters, and training of health personnel in communication and intercultural skills.