The Perceptions of Healthcare Professionals Serving Migrant, Refugee and Asylum Seekers in the Primary Healthcare Centers of Hatay, Şanlıurfa, Gaziantep and İzmir About Healthcare Provision, and Their Level of Burnout

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of burnout and perceptions of health professionals serving in primary healthcare centers in four provinces in Turkey, namely Gaziantep, Hatay, İzmir, Şanlıurfa, Method: The study was conducted in primary healthcare facilities in Gaziantep, Hatay, İzmir and Şanlıurfa. A survey with 85-items was used to collect data for demographic information, perceptions of healthcare professionals regarding their services and burnout. Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was utilized to explore the level of burnout. A total of 236 healthcare professionals completed the survey, out of which 224 responses were used in the analyses. Results: The results showed that healthcare professionals serving migrant groups mainly face challenges linked to linguistic barriers. Most of them consider interpreter services to be essential and appreciate the importance of training. Among the three burnout subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), particularly Emotional Exhaustion (EE) was found to have a relationship with a variety of factors like age, current workplace, training, number of children, profession, year of graduation, duration of work and knowledge of a common language, legal status and culture. Depersonalization (DP) was associated with age and knowledge of a common language, legal status and culture. Finally, Personal Achivement (PA) showed a relationship with the duration of work, gender and knowledge about culture. Conclusion: Evidence gathered in this study suggests that healthcare professionals serving migrant groups, particularly the ones working in in Family Health Centers and those with limited professional experience, need to be supported by interventions targeting linguistic and cultural barriers. Capacity building opportunities and effective human resource management in the health facilities need to be ensured for staff welfare and improvement of healthcare services.