Utilization of healthcare services among Chinese migrants in Kenya: a qualitative study

The number of Chinese migrants in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is increasing, which is part of the south-south migration. The healthcare seeking challenges for Chinese migrants in Africa are different from local people and other global migrants. The aim of this study is to explore utilization of local h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	BMC health services research Vol. 19; no. 1; p. 995
Main Authors:	Qiu, Jialing, Song, Duo, Nie, Juan, Su, Mengyi, Hao, Chun, Gu, Jing, Hao, Yuantao, Kiarie, James N, Chung, Michael H
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BioMed Central Ltd 26-12-2019 BioMed Central BMC
Subjects:	Adult Asian medicine Asian people China - ethnology Diplomatic & consular services Expatriates Facilities and Services Utilization - statistics & numerical data Female Health care reform Health insurance Health Services Accessibility Health services utilization Humans Industrialized nations Interviews Kenya Male Medical care quality Medical care utilization Medical research Middle Aged Migrants Migration Qualitative Qualitative Research Self care (Health) South-south migration Traditional Chinese medicine Transients and Migrants - psychology Transients and Migrants - statistics & numerical data Translation (Languages) Kenya China Sub-Saharan Africa South-south migration Migrants Qualitative Health services utilization
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Summary:	The number of Chinese migrants in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is increasing, which is part of the south-south migration. The healthcare seeking challenges for Chinese migrants in Africa are different from local people and other global migrants. The aim of this study is to explore utilization of local health services and barriers to health services access among Chinese migrants in Kenya. Thirteen in-depth interviews (IDIs) and six focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted among Chinese migrants (n = 32) and healthcare-related stakeholders (n = 3) in Nairobi and Kisumu, Kenya. Data was collected, transcribed, translated, and analyzed for themes. Chinese migrants in Kenya preferred self-treatment by taking medicines from China. When ailments did not improve, they then sought care at clinics providing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) or received treatment at Kenyan private healthcare facilities. Returning to China for care was also an option depending on the perceived severity of disease. The main supply-side barriers to local healthcare utilization by Chinese migrants were language and lack of health insurance. The main demand-side barriers included ignorance of available healthcare services and distrust of local medical care. Providing information on quality healthcare services in Kenya, which includes Chinese language translation assistance, may improve utilization of local healthcare facilities by Chinese migrants in the country.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1472-6963 1472-6963
DOI:	10.1186/s12913-019-4846-y