From Immigrant to Patient: Experiences of Bosnian Immigrants in the Swedish Healthcare System

Background: We aimed to explore the background of refugees emigrating to Sweden and their situation in the new country with special focus on their contacts with the Swedish healthcare system. Material and methods: Our study has a qualitative design. Data was collected between January and October 2013 during face-to-face interviews using open-ended questions. A qualitative content analysis was carried out in accordance with the Graneheim and Lundman method (2004). The participants were 8 women and 7 men, aged between 65 and 86 years who had emigrated from Bosnia and Herzegovina. They had lived in Sweden between 13 and 21 years. Results: The findings revealed that the participants themselves experienced that change of scenery, culture and language influenced their own well-being. The most important finding was that language and communication difficulties are experienced as the major problems. These difficulties implied that all informants were forced to seek help from their children or to use an interpreter when they visited various healthcare institutions. Conclusions: Health care professionals need to be aware of the diverse needs of various ethnic groups in Sweden, some of whom may carry traumatic experiences that could influence their health. In order to provide trans cultural care, a professional staff needs to know that historical, political and socioeconomic factors may influence ethnic minorities. Health care staff needs to recognize that social problems might be medicalized. In particular this article emphasizes the problems associated with language.