Abstract
Women who migrate to another country face a series of challenges. These include learning a new language and culture, raising families – often without support, dealing with reproductive and sexual health issues and ultimately ageing in place. Limited research has investigated the reproductive and sexual health issues in migrant women in Australia, although statistics indicate these women are at high risk of reproductive malignancies as they age. This study investigates the key concerns of older migrant women as they age, and the barriers and enablers to accessing treatment and healthcare for reproductive health. Women from a range of migrant backgrounds were invited to participate in this study. Participants were aged 55 years or older, and lived in NSW, Australia. Women were recruited through networks with ethnicity-based organisations, charities, and support groups. The study was approved by the local Human Research Ethics Committee. One hundred and twenty women were recruited and asked to discuss their key barriers to accessing reproductive and sexual healthcare. These included language barriers, poor access to a suitable health professional or GP, transportation difficulties, embarrassment and cost. Given the known high risk for gynaecological malignancy in older migrant women, these findings provide evidence to assist in the development of guidelines and policies that support this group who find it difficult to access healthcare. It is likely that globally, women who migrate to other countries could benefit from these findings.
Presenters
Leigh WilsonAssociate Professor, Behavioural and Women's Health, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Social and Cultural Perspectives on Aging
KEYWORDS
Ageing, Migrant Health, Reproductive and Sexual health, Preventive Health
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