[Hospital staff's different attitudes and experiences with regard to immigrant patients]

The study investigates hospital staff's different attitudes and experiences with regard to immigrant patients as a basis for educational initiatives.

The study is based on a questionnaire to nurses, doctors and assistant nurses at Bispebjerg Hospital, a major general hospital in Copenhagen in spring 2001. Among the 1,012 persons included, the total response rate was 58%.

Doctors had more frequent contact with immigrant patients than nurses and assistant nurses. Doctors used interpreters more often and experienced more often the need for an interpreter when none was available. The professionals regarded it as appropriate that immigrant patients participate in the general preventive programmes, but especially doctors and nurses favoured special programmes to meet the special needs of immigrant patients. In particular, nurses and assistant nurses showed interest in education within the area of migrant health. Attitudes among different health professions towards immigrants, preventive programmes and the need for further education reflect educational background, but also differences in experiences and working conditions regarding patient contact.

There is a need for educational interventions relating to major issues such as communication and culture and to specific issues of immigrants' health and disease patterns in a global perspective. The starting point of interventions should be the specific interests and needs of the different groups of professionals.