General practitioners' experiences with refugee patients

Refugees are likely to suffer from complex medical conditions due to persecution and exile. The symptoms may persist several years after the individual has fled his or her homeland. Knowledge of refugees' health condition in their receptive countries is insufficient. Qualitative interviews with 12 general practitioners (GPs) in and around Oslo. A narrative approach was chosen for the analysis. The GPs' consultations with refugee patients seem to be characterised by uncertainty on the relevance of their refugee experience to their health condition. The GPs were reluctant to invite the patient to talk about traumatic experiences connected to their homelands, the escape and the exile. Rather, they express that unfamiliar culture and foreign language act as barriers to good communication between doctor and patient. Specialised health services seem neither to be accessible to the patients nor to be providers of clinical supervision for the GPs. Cultural status seems to cover up experiences related to escape and exile. A lack of specialised health services seems to place the GP as a single actor in the medical service to refugee patients. The interviews revealed a need for instruction material adapted to the GPs' situation.