Uptake of preventive health care among Mediterranean migrants in Belgium.
OBJECTIVE
The aim was to investigate the influence of ethnicity on the demand for preventive care by Mediterranean migrants in Belgium.


METHODS
This was a survey of patient contacts with general practitioners.


METHODS
33 general practitioners working in Belgian localities with the highest migrant density collaborated in the study. During two months they recorded information on consultations with an estimated 72,600 clients. Participation was obtained from all subjects attending for preventive care or for a new episode of illness (n = 6256).


RESULTS
An average of 30% of the patients sought preventive care, but multivariate analysis showed ethnicity to be a strong independent predictor of this type of demand. The higher primary preventive uptake by female Moroccans and Turks and the higher secondary preventive uptake by males from the same ethnic groups, as compared with the Belgian reference population, contrasted with a lower demand for tertiary prevention in migrants of either gender. The relative demand for preventive care by the more acculturated migrants was, however, quite similar to the demand of the Belgian population.


CONCLUSIONS
The differential uptake of primary preventive care could be partly explained by the higher fertility rates of immigrant women, and the differential secondary uptake by a lower incidence of tuberculosis in the indigenous population. The meagre demand for tertiary prevention by Moroccan and Turkish migrants could be due to weaker compliance with treatments for chronic disorders, which is related to the perceptions of illness in these ethnic groups. The establishment of cross cultural mechanisms of dialogue should enhance compliance and improve the access of immigrants to the benefits of tertiary preventive care.
Van der Stuyft
P
P
Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.
Woodward
M
M
Amstrong
J
J
De Muynck
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001530:Belgium; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009018:Morocco / Q000208:ethnology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011322:Primary Prevention; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000523:psychology*; D014421:Turkey / Q000208:ethnology