title: Overcoming barriers to health-care access: A qualitative study among African migrants in Guangzhou, China.
abstract: Guangzhou is China's third most populous city, and the region's burgeoning manufacturing economy has attracted many young African businessmen and entrepreneurs to the city. The aims of this study were to examine strategies that African migrants in Guangzhou have adopted in response to health-care barriers, and explore their perceptions of how to address their needs. Twenty-five semi-structured interviews and two focus groups were conducted among African migrants residing in Guangzhou, China. Facing multiple barriers to care, African migrants have adopted a number of suboptimal and unsustainable approaches to access health care. These included: using their Chinese friends or partners as interpreters, self-medicating, using personal connections to medical doctors, and travelling to home countries or countries that offer English-speaking doctors for health care. Health-care providers and health organisations in Guangzhou have not yet acquired sufficient cultural competence to address the needs of African migrants residing in the city. Introducing linguistically and culturally competent health-care services in communities concentrated with African migrants may better serve the population. With the growing international migration to China, it is essential to develop sustainable approaches to improving health-care access for international migrants, particularly those who are marginalised.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education , Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA.
authors.forename: Lavinia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: b College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University , New York , NY , USA.
authors.forename: Katherine B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences , University of Macau , Taipa, Macau (SAR) , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Brian J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: a Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education , Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: a Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education , Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA.
authors.forename: Jingqi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education , Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education , Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA.
authors.forename: Joshua M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schrock
authors.affiliation: d African Studies Department , Global African Diaspora Studies (GADS) Research Platform, University of Vienna , Vienna , Austria.
authors.forename: Adams B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Bodomo
authors.affiliation: e Guangdong Provincial Center for Skin Diseases and STD Control , Guangzhou , Guangdong Province , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ligang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: e Guangdong Provincial Center for Skin Diseases and STD Control , Guangzhou , Guangdong Province , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education , Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA.
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Nehl
authors.affiliation: f UNC Project-China , Guangzhou , Guangdong Province , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Joseph D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.affiliation: a Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education , Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA.
authors.forename: Frank Y
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000349:Africa / Q000208:ethnology; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003144:Communication Barriers; D003219:Confidentiality / Q000523:psychology*; D065246:Culturally Competent Care / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D057193:Medical Tourism / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology* / Q000639:trends; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Africa; China; access to care; health-care barriers; migrants