Hamed Ahmadinia’s dissertation in the field of Information Studies, ”Navigating Cultural, Health, and Information Landscapes A User-focused Approach to Immigrant Health in a Nordic Context”, was examined on May 13, 2024, at the Åbo Akademi's Faculty of Social Sciences, Business and Law. Professor Ágústa Pálsdóttir (University of Iceland, Iceland served as the opponent, with Professor Kristina Eriksson-Backa (Åbo Akademi) as the custodian. The dissertation is published in Åbo Akademi's publication archive Doria at https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-12-4364-6.
As an immigrant who moved to Finland permanently, I have experienced the significant challenges of using the Finnish healthcare system, such as dealing with the dental appoint-ment booking system in Turku, which was accessible only in the local languages, either in Finnish or Swedish.When I arrived, I had to overcome language barriers, unfamiliar medical practices, and a culture different from my home country. These challenges are common for many im-migrants in the Nordic countries, not just me. This experience motivated me to pursue myacademic research into how immigrants’ access and use health-related information and ser-vices in Nordic countries, as well as what barriers they face. Furthermore, I noticed a lack of existing research in this area, which reinforced my commitment to investigating this topic.Health information refers to a broad spectrum of information, such as details about different available health services, disease prevention methods, and health promotion pro-grammes in a country. Health information is accessible through different mediums.For immigrants, reliable and comprehensive health information is absolutely neces-sary—it bridges the gap between an unfamiliar healthcare system and their specific health needs, facilitating informed decisions about their health needs, understanding their medical rights, and navigating the available health-related information and services in a new country.Immigrants face many barriers when accessing healthcare services and information in a new country. Not only are these barriers logistical and linguistic, but they also have deep roots in the beliefs, perceptions, traditions, cultures, and habits that shapethe immigrants’ health-seeking behaviours. In many cultures, it is common to receive immediate medications for any minor illness—a practice that contrasts sharply with the Nordic approach, where doc-tors typically conduct detailed medical examinations before prescribing any medication. This difference in practice can lead to misunderstandings and feelings among immi-grants about receiving inadequate care because they expect immediate remedies and per-ceive the care as unnecessarily delayed.
Loading comments…