Tibajev, Andrey , Vartanova, Irina , Strimling, Pontus & Birgitta Essén | 2025
Reproductive Health
When people move to a new country, they often face challenges in getting the healthcare they need, especially when doctors or nurses make assumptions about their cultural or moral beliefs. In Sweden, like in many other countries, healthcare providers are encouraged to offer culturally competent care. This means they should try to understand and respect patients’ different backgrounds. However, if providers rely too much on general ideas about where someone comes from, they may end up using stereotypes instead of seeing the individual. This study looks at how healthcare providers in Sweden think about the values of immigrant patients from the Middle East, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa, specifically on issues related to sexual and reproductive rights, such as abortion, contraception, or sex before marriage. We compared what healthcare providers believe such immigrant patients think with what immigrants from these regions actually answered in two recent surveys. The results show that healthcare providers often assume that immigrant patients have overly conservative views. This mismatch was most striking on the topics where the patients were the most socially liberal. These misunderstandings can affect the quality of care that immigrant patients receive. To avoid this, healthcare workers need better knowledge of the real beliefs and experiences of their patients. This would help ensure respectful, equitable, and inclusive healthcare for everyone.
