A clinic in Denmark focuses on the immigrant experience and addresses medical discrimination experienced by immigrants.
A specialized clinic in Denmark is tackling medical discrimination to improve care for immigrants, who are often neglected by the public health system, Agence France-Presse reported. Agence France-Presse Today (February 16th).
Medical discrimination can prevent patients from receiving the care they need. “When doctors are faced with people who don’t look like them and express unusual symptoms, they assume there’s nothing wrong with them,” says Morten Sodemann, professor and lead physician at the Migrant Health Clinic. says Mr. -Said by the Danish Key Medical Center AFP.
Sodemann’s clinic at Odense University Hospital has been running extended hours of about an hour to treat patients with “foreign-sounding names” and “medical problems that no one has been able to solve.” The clinic has treated about 250 patients a year since it opened more than 10 years ago.
Ali Hod Roy, a patient at Sodeman’s clinic, was sent to one specialist after another after an accident at work. Rozi, a 50-year-old from Lebanon, had never attended school. “For three years, many doctors couldn’t help me. Here they are listening to me and starting to find solutions,” Rozi said. AFP.
According to the Danish Institute for Human Rights, 84% of ethnic minorities face discrimination or prejudice based on their appearance.
tragic incident
Sodeman founded the clinic in response to the tragic death of a woman from East Africa after moving from Tanzania to Denmark to live with her husband. The woman complained of fatigue and was said to be suffering from “culture shock,” also known as “ethnic pain” or “cultural symptoms.”
The woman was hospitalized, but died several weeks later. It was later discovered that she was actually HIV positive and had tuberculosis.
Denmark has a comprehensive and socialized healthcare system that ranks among the best in the world. Universal free health care is primarily funded by income taxes. However, despite the Danish healthcare system’s prioritization of equal access, immigrants still face discrimination.
Mikala Bendiksen from Refugees Welcome said Denmark’s healthcare system was not designed to accommodate different cultures, leading to inequalities.
The system “emphasizes personal responsibility” and “you are responsible for your own health and you have to participate in the process,” Bendixen said.
“People born outside Denmark are not willing to ask for anything because the health system in Denmark is better compared to the country they left behind,” she added.
Relationship between doctors and immigrant patients
A 2022 study published in the Journal of Migration and Health highlights the importance of a “coproductive patient-physician relationship” when providing healthcare to immigrants. This collaborative approach emphasizes respectful communication, openness, and active listening to address the inequalities that immigrants often face, such as language barriers and unfamiliarity with foreign health systems. .
This study highlights that “co-production” is defined as a partnership between patient and physician that is rooted in trust and exhibits open communication within a safe environment. A collaborative approach involves sharing decisions about care, including health assessments and treatment plans tailored to the patient’s goals.
Medical professionals cited in the study said that allocating time as part of care is critical to patiently and persistently trying to understand not only a patient’s health status but also their life story. Stated.