Exploring Somali refugee women’s experiences accessing health care services in Manitoba

Abstract

This exploratory qualitative descriptive study recruited a purposive sample of Somali women who were government-assisted refugees (n=3), privately sponsored refugees (n=6), or refugee claimants (n=3) and were residing in a city in Manitoba, Canada. The theory of Well-being in Refugee Women Experiencing Cultural Transition was used to guide the study. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the digitally recorded interview transcripts. The principal investigator coded the transcripts by hand and then re-coded the transcripts using Atlast.ti, a qualitative data analysis software program. The findings are presented in three sections: Accessing Health Care, Utilizing Health Care, and Role of Health Care Providers. The results of this study support the findings of previous research and problematize current refugee health care delivery in Manitoba. This timely study has implications for health care providers, professional health program educators, and policymakers.