Intention to Use Primary Healthcare Services among South-South Migrants

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Migration Studies

Background:

• International migrants face unique challenges in accessing healthcare.
• The right to health framework is crucial for understanding healthcare access.
• Chile is a significant destination for South American migrants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a right-to-health model for predicting primary healthcare utilization.
• To identify factors influencing future healthcare service use among migrants in Chile.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional survey of 499 South American migrants in Chile.
• Utilized ad-hoc questionnaires assessing right to health, discrimination, and socio-demographic factors.
• Employed correlation and path analyses to evaluate predictive models.

Main Results:

• Six variables significantly impacted future healthcare utilization intention.
• Healthcare service attributes (availability, accessibility, acceptability, quality) positively influenced intent.
• Perceived racial/ethnic discrimination also positively affected healthcare use intention, potentially as an adaptive response.

Conclusions:

• The study highlights key determinants of healthcare utilization among international migrants.
• Healthcare system factors and discrimination experiences are critical considerations.
• Further research should incorporate broader contextual factors for international migrants.