Interculturality and healthcare provision

Abstract

Background: Since 2013 the rapidly growing international migration has posed new challenges to EU healthcare systems. As a result of the crisis situation caused by mass immigration in 2015 a ’High-level meeting on Refugee and Migrant Health’ was organised by World Health Organization (WHO) and its Outcome Document emphasizes the importance of providing migrant-sensitive health care and training health professionals taking into account the migrants’ cultural, religious, and linguistic diversity. Along these recommendations this study aims to assess medical students’ preparedness, and actual level of intercultural competence (ICC), and to identify potential deficiencies and areas to be improved.
Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted at University of Pécs, in 2016/17 study year among freshmen and senior medical students. A total of 391 questionnaire were analysed and the response rate was 83.9%. Anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was used containing 94, mainly close-ended items. The tool was a modified and translated version of ‘Clinical Cultural Competence Questionnaire’ developed by R.C. Like. The items were grouped into 6 sections: sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, skills, attitudes in relation to providing healthcare for culturally diverse populations and comfort-level in intercultural situations, and previously completed ICC trainings, as well as willingness to attend future diversity trainings. Data were analysed using SPSS 21.0.
Results: Based on our results, higher scores were demonstrated in terms of ’better language competencies’ (ie. the more foreign languages spoken) for all of the 4 main ICC domains, while ’previous intercultural trainings’ were only related to higher level of ’Knowledge’ but had no effect on participants' ’Skills’, ’Attitudes’ and ’Comfort-level’. Our study highlighted some specific sensitive areas to improve, such as ’providing culturally-sensitive end-life care’ or ’dealing with derogatory remarks on somenone’s ethnicity’.

Conclusions: Despite intergrating a new course into medical curriculum may face several difficulties due to students’ overload and lack of time, still, it is encouraging that study participants are open towards further information. We hope that our study results and the consideration of participants’ proposals will surely contribute to the success of a new optional ICC course in the close future.