Table 1 Descriptive Summary of Included Studies
From: Health and medical experience of migrant workers: qualitative meta-synthesis
Author Year | Aim | Participant Characteristics | Data collection/ Methodology | Results | CASP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lee et al. 2013 [31] | Exploring situations that might put the middle-aged Korean-Chinese female migrant workers at risk for work-related musculoskeletal diseases (WMSDs) | 23 Middle-aged Korean-Chinese female migrant workers | Focus groups and semi-structured interview/ Directed content analysis | 1. Risk factors in work-related musculoskeletal diseases 1) Physical risk factors 2) Socio-psychological factors: Discrimination and distrust, lack of autonomy in work, employment insecurity 2. Major health problems and healthcare access limitations among middle-aged Korean-Chinese female migrant workers | 100 |
Lim et al. 2014 [32] | Examining the meanings and perceptions of ‘clinic centre’ given by both heath care givers like medical specialists and students and heath care receivers like migrant workers | Total 28 15 migrants (Including migrant workers), five medical specialists from the centre, two centre steering committee members, two college nursing volunteers, and four high school student volunteers. | Participant observation and in-depth interview/ Ethnography | 1. Constructing care providers’ understanding and meaning of ‘clinic centre’ 2. Understanding ‘clinic centre’ from a migrant perspective: Migrants perceive ‘clinic centre’ as spaces where they are only interested in health promotion activities, regardless of their immigration status | 80 |
Li 2014 [33] | Exploring the reality of physical pain in the migrant labour process and the specific process of becoming invisible and the structural aspects of them “voluntary” overuse of the body. | Eight Middle-aged Korean-Chinese Women Migrant workers | Participant observation and focus group interview/ Life history analysis | 1. The physical pain of migrant labour 2. Invisible realities of body pain 1) Body pain situated in life: gendered labour and body experiences in Chinese society 2) Uncovered workers’ compensation and exclusion from the health insurance system 3) Personalised treatment and the sociocultural construction of illness 4) ‘Spontaneous’ body abuse and the delay of body pain | 90 |
Kim 2015 [4] | Examining the conception and factors that affect the utilisation of healthcare services among foreign migrant workers in Korea | Nine migrant workers | Focus group interview/ Qualitative content analysis - deductively (Andersen-Newman Behavioural Model) | 1. Predisposing factors: Demographic factors, social structure, health beliefs 2. Enabling factors: Individual/household level (means and methods of access to health care), community level 3. Need factors: Perceived need, evaluated need | 100 |
Kim et al. 2016 [5] | Examining what medical experience international marriage migrant women have and what cultural differences and conflicts they face in their new society, Korea. | Total 11 Nine international marriage migrant women (workers) Two administrative workers at the public health centre in Ansan | Focus group interview and the minutes of official meetings/ Narrative analysis | 1. Korean healthcare system for migrants 2. Married migrant women’s experiences of Korean healthcare and cultural conflicts: Communication problems and solutions, lack of understanding of detailed departments of medical system, difficulties in accessing general hospitals and cultural differences, dissatisfaction with doctor-patient interaction, cultural differences in prescription and perception of drugs, cultural differences in emergency care. | 90 |
Shin et al. a 2019 [20] | Examining the health management process of undocumented migrants and identifying potential barriers preventing them from using health and medical care | 14 undocumented migrants (Including migrant workers) | In-depth interviews/Grounded theory | 1. Causal condition: Economic factors, labour environment factors, information accessibility factors 2. Contextual condition: Difficulties experienced by being undocumented 3. Phenomenon: Poor health, low healthcare utilisation 4. Intervening condition: Language availability, interaction with healthcare providers 5. Action/Interaction: Service satisfaction 6. Consequence: Healthcare utilisation prospects | 90 |
Shin et al. b 2019 [34] | Understanding the health status of undocumented migrants and find ways to improve their access to health and medical services | 12 experts who have provided medical assistance for migrants for more than five years and the literature review | In-depth interviews and the literature review/ methodological triangulation and researcher triangulation | 1. Insufficient medical services 2. Communication problems 3. Lack of information 4. Need for establishing a separate health care system 5. Need for substantial and systematic free medical centres 6. Importance of utilising the community 7. Situation where available health and medical services are concentrated in Seoul 8. Improving the environment surrounding undocumented migrants 9. Improving cultural discrimination (Muslim issues) | 100 |
Chun 2021 [19] | Exploring the health management experience of Vietnamese married immigrant women living in the city | 11 Vietnamese immigrant women residing in the urban area (Including migrant workers) | In-depth individual interviews/ Grounded theory | 1. Core category: Health is not a necessity but a choice in a strange land called Korea 2. Contextual condition: The hard thing—exposing “myself” to the world, medical services hard to access even in a state of illness 3. Causal condition: Unfamiliar life to live alone 4. Action-interaction: Health pushed away in turbulent life 5. Intervening condition: Power to prioritize health 6. Consequence: Health in the chain with life | 100 |
Son et al. 2022 [35] | Examining healthcare service delivery and immigrant health behaviours | 17 stakeholders from the public and non-governmental institutions and organisations for immigrant healthcare services | In-depth interview/Thematic analysis | 1. Contraction of healthcare delivery and use 1) Worsening access to healthcare due to reduced mobility and discrimination 2) Quarantine policies and contraction of healthcare supply 2. Weakened medical care continuity 1) Delays in disease treatment and management 2) Reduced medical support and limited communication | 100 |