Migrant Women and Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services

The number of people living in a different place from their place of birth is increasing year by year. Although women have always been involved in migratory movements, today they are increasingly doing so independently. Women are migrating from the Global South to higher-income countries. One of the challenges they face is access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services.

A new paper, published in the Midwifery Journal examines the barriers that migrant women face in accessing SRH services.

The paper titled, “Access of migrant women to sexual and reproductive health services: A systematic review,” is the work of Miss Fátima Morales, Affiliate Assistant Professor at the Sbarro Health Research Organization at Temple University, Philadelphia, US, and Professor at the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Seville, Spain. The review is a collaboration with some important Italian researchers, such as Dr. Palmira Immordino, Professor at the Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties at the University of Palermo, Italy and Dr. Antonio Giordano and Dr. Gaetano Romano, Professors at the Sbarro Health Research Organization at Temple University, Philadelphia, US, and coworkers of the University of Seville: Dr. Carmen García Gil, expert in gender studies and María Pérez Sánchez. In this paper, they identified the policy-level barriers that limit the access of migrant women to SRH services, their consequences, and strategies implemented to overcome these barriers.

The most common barrier to SRH services identified has been lack of information (57 %), followed by language issues (43 %), cultural differences (39 %), economic status (25 %), administrative barriers (25 %) and discrimination (14 %). These barriers led to under-utilisation of maternity services and contraceptive methods. This study also developed strategies and action plans to improve the health of migrant women. Strategies used by migrant women to overcome these barriers were primarily based on seeking help within their own community or family settings. Strategies at institutional level to improve the access of migrant women to SRH services need to reduce existing barriers, promote health literacy, and train health workers to be culturally sensitive and responsive to the needs of migrant women. Policies that bring health services closer to migrant women are required.

About the Sbarro Health Research Organization

The Sbarro Health Research Organization (SHRO) is non-profit charity committed to funding excellence in basic genetic research to cure and diagnose cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and other chronic illnesses and to foster the training of young doctors in a spirit of professionalism and humanism. To learn more about the SHRO please visit www.shro.org.