Barriers to accessing culturally appropriate perinatal healthcare for Black migrant mothers and babies from Sub-Saharan Africa living in Scotland

Abstract

Background: Healthcare providers and stakeholders acknowledge the increasing migration and the barriers to accessing healthcare services in high-resource countries (HRCs), including Scotland. However, delivering equitable, culturally conducive care (CCC), and good quality healthcare to those from culturally diverse ethnic groups continues to be a complex and vast issue faced by high-income countries (WHO, 2016). Methods: Snowball sampling was used in this qualitative study. Eight women voluntarily participated in semi-structured interviews (SSI) to gain a better understanding of the health disparities among black African immigrant mothers (BAIMs) from Sub-Saharan Africa. In the SSIs, open-ended questions were asked to gather insights of the lived experiences and perspectives of BAIMB-SSA, focusing on service provisions and the barriers to accessing relevant perinatal health services in Scotland. Results: The findings highlight multifaceted factors and barriers that could be mediated by a multilevel intersectoral approach. The data analysis was guided by the Levesque conceptual framework (2013). Seven themes emerged from the analysis: health system knowledge, racism, cultural norms, communication, social support networks, immigration, and financial challenges. Conclusion: Scotland's focus on migration, diversity, and equal opportunities in healthcare remains, but disparities in service delivery for minority groups persist. Research in areas such as (i) an in-depth understanding of the health needs of specific groups of black African women living in Scotland, (ii) the physical, social, and psychological barriers they face when accessing healthcare facilities, and (iii) ways to improve health outcomes by giving the women improved access to health care services are urgently needed.