Transnational Migration, State Policy and Local Clinician Treatment of Asylum Seekers and Resettled Migrants

Based on interviews conducted at five Finnish reception centers & in two municipal communes during summer 2002 with 93 migrants, mainly from a variety of Southern & Eastern countries of origin, & their ethnoculturally discordant clinicians, the article compares asylum seekers & foreign-born residents in terms of health care treatment & outcome perspectives. Comparative analysis suggests that context makes a difference in post-migration medical encounters. The legally admitted foreign nationals consulted at community facilities were considerably more likely than were asylum seekers assisted at reception centers to be satisfied with the health care they had received & to be confident that the attending physician's recommendations would serve them well in the future. Policy implications related to the study's findings are explored. In Finland & elsewhere, the education of general practitioners for transnational medical encounters needs to be enhanced. International & national efforts to promote health also need to encompass political asylum & third country resettlement policies. In Finland & other migrant-receiving states, prolonged insecure immigration status can be debilitating for both asylum seeker & host society. Expedited admission to legal residence & expanded choice of physician are likely to result in improved health outcomes. Tables, References. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd., copyright 2006.]