Patient-Reported Experiences in Accessing Primary Healthcare among Immigrant Population in Canada: A Rapid Literature Review

(1) Background: Immigrants represent around 21.9% of the total population in Canada and encounter multifaceted obstacles in accessing and receiving primary healthcare. This literature review explores patient experiences in primary care from the perspective of immigrants and identifies areas for furt...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2020-11, Vol.17 (23), p.8724
Main Authors: Bajgain, Bishnu Bahadur, Bajgain, Kalpana Thapa, Badal, Sujan, Aghajafari, Fariba, Jackson, Jeanette, Santana, Maria-Jose
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bias
Canada
Cross-Sectional Studies
Culture
Emigrants and Immigrants - statistics & numerical data
English language
Health care
Health care access
Health care policy
Health Services Accessibility - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Immigrants
Immigration
Language
Literature reviews
Minority & ethnic groups
Noncitizens
Patient Reported Outcome Measures
Patient satisfaction
Personal health
Population
Primary care
Primary Health Care - statistics & numerical data
Review
Socioeconomic factors
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:(1) Background: Immigrants represent around 21.9% of the total population in Canada and encounter multifaceted obstacles in accessing and receiving primary healthcare. This literature review explores patient experiences in primary care from the perspective of immigrants and identifies areas for further research and improvement. (2) Methods: A comprehensive search was performed on PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, SCOPUS, and Google scholar to identify studies published from 2010 to July 2020. Relevant articles were peer-reviewed, in English language, and reported patient experiences in primary healthcare in Canada. (3) Results: Of the 1566 searched articles, 19 articles were included in this review. Overall, the finding from articles were summarized into four major themes: cultural and linguistic differences; socioeconomic challenges; health system factors; patient-provider relationship. (4) Conclusion: Understanding the gaps to accessing and receiving appropriate healthcare is important to shape policies, enhance the quality of services, and deliver more equitable healthcare services. It is therefore pertinent that primary healthcare providers play an active role in bridging these gaps with strong support from policymakers. Understanding and respecting diversity in culture, language, experiences, and systems is crucial in reducing health inequalities and improving access to quality care in a respectful and responsive manner.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph17238724