Do referrals work? Responses of childbearing newcomers to referrals for care.
BACKGROUND
Health care post-birth may include referrals for additional care. Migrant (i.e., refugee, asylum-seeker, and immigrant) women frequently do not follow-up referrals for care and could be at increased health risk as a consequence. We sought to explore the inhibitors and facilitators of migrant women for following through with referrals for care.


METHODS
Twenty-five women living in Montreal who had received a referral completed semi-structured interviews.


RESULTS
Inhibitors included language barriers, transportation problems, scheduling appointments, absence of husband, absence of childcare, cold weather, perceived inappropriate referrals, and cultural practice differences. Facilitators included choice of follow-up facilitator, appropriate services, empathetic professionals, and early receipt of information.


CONCLUSIONS
Results indicate that migrant women may not be receiving the care they and their newborns need once a concern is identified. This suggests conceiving of a different approach to the care of this population post-birth, which could include partnering with social or religious networks.
School of Nursing, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, 3506 University St, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2A7, USA. anita.gagnon@mcgill.ca
A J
AJ
Gagnon
F A
FA
Carnevale
J F
JF
Saucier
C
C
Clausen
J
J
Jeannotte
J
J
Oxman-Martinez
D000328:Adult; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008427:Maternal Health Services; D009313:National Health Programs; D011247:Pregnancy; D011792:Quebec; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000592:standards*; D012036:Refugees