Access to Health-Related Information, Health Services, and Welfare Services among South and Southeast Asian Immigrants in Japan: A Qualitative Study

Migrants face several challenges in their daily lives in the host country due to limited knowledge about the language, culture, and social system of the host country. Their vulnerability increases in a time of crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, migrant communities were severely affected. Evidence...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2022-09, Vol.19 (19), p.12234
Main Authors: Matsuoka, Sadatoshi, Kharel, Madhu, Koto-Shimada, Kyoko, Hashimoto, Maiko, Kiyohara, Hiroyuki, Iwamoto, Azusa, Nishihara, Mika, Fujita, Masami
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
Credibility
Data collection
Ecological models
Emigrants and Immigrants
Foreign residents
Health care access
Health Services
Health Services Accessibility
Humans
Immigrants
Japan
Japanese language
Language
Low income groups
Medical research
Migrants
Pandemics
Qualitative Research
Social networks
Social organization
Students
Transients and Migrants
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Summary:Migrants face several challenges in their daily lives in the host country due to limited knowledge about the language, culture, and social system of the host country. Their vulnerability increases in a time of crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, migrant communities were severely affected. Evidence on migrants' access to COVID-19-related information and services is limited. We conducted a qualitative, descriptive study among migrants from Vietnam, Myanmar, and Nepal living in Japan to explore the barriers and promoting factors for their access to health-related information, health services, and welfare services during the first wave of COVID-19. We used a thematic analysis to identify key themes according to the study's objectives. Further, these themes were assessed using an adapted version of the ecological model. The migrants mainly relied on the information available on social networking sites and were not aware of formal sources of information. Language was a major barrier, followed by cognitive bottlenecks and time constraints for migrants accessing health-related information and services. Social media, short-form information provided using their native language or plain Japanese and illustrations, and supportive people around could help them to access health-related information and services. The findings from this study demonstrate how migrants can represent a vulnerable group in a host country, even more so in a time of crisis.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph191912234