The Intercultural Challenges of General Practitioners in Norway with Migrant Patients

Abstract

Migrants to Norway disproportionately use emergency medical services while under-using primary care, obviating the medical and cost advantages of the Regular General Practitioner (RGP) scheme. Little is known about migrants' use of the RGP scheme and the obstacles that affect ability and motivation to obtain or comply with treatment. The authors questioned 12 GPs around Oslo who serve migrants, using a semi-structured interview guide. GPs defined migrants in terms of socio-cultural difference rather than legal status, these differences often obstructing doctor-patient communication and understanding. GPs reported that migrants often seem helpless in dealing with the public health service owing to language difficulties, differences in expectations and a systemic failure to co-ordinate care. The findings suggest the importance of providing information about health services in a migrant's mother tongue upon arrival in Norway, of GPs taking detailed patient histories from the beginning to identify obstacles to communication and treatment, and of co-ordinating emergency services with other care.