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Do Referrals Work? Responses of Childbearing Newcomers to Referrals for Care

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Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background Health care post-birth may include referrals for additional care. Migrant (i.e., refugee, asylum-seeker, and immigrant) women frequently do not follow-up referrals for care and could be at increased health risk as a consequence. We sought to explore the inhibitors and facilitators of migrant women for following through with referrals for care. Methods Twenty-five women living in Montreal who had received a referral completed semi-structured interviews. Results Inhibitors included language barriers, transportation problems, scheduling appointments, absence of husband, absence of childcare, cold weather, perceived inappropriate referrals, and cultural practice differences. Facilitators included choice of follow-up facilitator, appropriate services, empathetic professionals, and early receipt of information. Discussion Results indicate that migrant women may not be receiving the care they and their newborns need once a concern is identified. This suggests conceiving of a different approach to the care of this population post-birth, which could include partnering with social or religious networks.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of: Health Services and Policy Research, Gender and Health Research, Human Development, Child and Youth Health, and Population and Public Health (CIHR #123033), le Réseau de recherche en santé des populations, and Immigration et métropoles (Center of Excellence in Immigration Studies—Montreal). Le fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ) provided career support to AJG. Institut national de la santé et de la recherche medicale (INSERM) provided visiting scientist support to AJG during the writing of this manuscript. We received in-kind contributions from the Montreal Regional Health Board interpreter services. We acknowledge the assistance of Lisa Merry for operational support of the project and the other co-investigators on the project leading to this follow-up study (Geoffrey Dougherty, Robert W. Platt, Olive Wahoush, Anne George, Elizabeth Stanger, and Donna E. Stewart).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, 3506 University St, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 2A7, USA

    A. J. Gagnon & C. Clausen

  2. Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Canada

    F. A. Carnevale

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Centre hospitalier universitaire de mère enfant, L’Hôpital Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Canada

    J. F. Saucier

  4. School of Social Work, McGill University, 3506 University St, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 2A7, USA

    J. Jeannotte

  5. School of Social Work, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada

    J. Oxman-Martinez

Authors
  1. A. J. Gagnon
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  2. F. A. Carnevale
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  3. J. F. Saucier
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  4. C. Clausen
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  5. J. Jeannotte
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  6. J. Oxman-Martinez
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Correspondence to A. J. Gagnon.

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Gagnon, A.J., Carnevale, F.A., Saucier, J.F. et al. Do Referrals Work? Responses of Childbearing Newcomers to Referrals for Care. J Immigrant Minority Health 12, 559–568 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-009-9242-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-009-9242-y

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