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Biomedical subjects

T Borde

Publications and source records attributed to T Borde.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

[A basic set of indicators for mapping migrant status. Recommendations for epidemiological practice].

Data on the health status of migrants are still scarce. One of the reasons for this is that migration status has not been well recorded in official statistics and epidemiological studies. In order to obtain an adequate and standardised operationalisation of migrant status, we first need an exact definition of the terms "migrant" and "migration background". We discuss approaches to the definition of terms and the surveying of ethnic minorities and migrants, and then develop a basic set of migration status indicators for use in epidemiological research. This set of indicators includes country of birth of the father and mother, year of immigration, mother tongue, German language skills and status of residence. The key indicator for the identification of migrants is the country of birth of the parents and not the nationality as was previously often the case. Thus, the classification based on the judicial category of nationality is replaced by a classification based on the biographical event "migration". Migration brings with it specific life conditions and challenges that can impact health across several generations. An instrument for surveying migrant status must be further developed both to reflect the special conditions of the life situation resulting from the migration experience and to take as full account as possible of all aspects of a migrant's history.

Algorithms↗

[Pain and ethnicity - results of a survey at three internal/gynecological first-aid stations in Berlin].

QUESTION: How high is the pain pressure in everyday life of German vs. not German patients, with which troubles do they come to the emergency room, how intense is their pain, how long is it lasting, how many pain areas are named? GROUP OF PATIENTS/METHODS: The study "Utilization of clinical emergency rooms by German patients and migrants" was carried out at first-aid stations of three Berlin hospitals in municipal districts with a high share of foreigners in the population in the form of standardized interviews on following topics: roads to have access to the emergency room, perception and interpretation of pain/troubles, expectations from the first-aid station, further medical care, chronical diseases, self-help measures, social data, migration aspects. RESULTS: An everyday life pressure because of headache and rheumatic pains was named significant more often by migrants of Turkish extraction than by the German women asked. In the age-group 50-65 years the migrants chose significant higher scale values to characterize their pain intensity. Migrants named all in all clearly more pain areas than German patients. The share of patients with pain persisting more than three days was 36.1 % in German women, 45.5 % in migrants of Turkish origin, 45.8 % in women of other ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: Pain interpretation as well as pain expression are socio-culturally conditioned. Differences between migrants and native patients should lead to take more into consideration the concrete life situation and specific strain in the patients' treatment.

Demography↗

[Female menopause--comparison of knowledge and opinion in German and Turkish-born women].

320 German and 262 Turkish immigrant patients of the gynaecological units of the Virchow Women's Clinic in Berlin were questioned, to compare their knowledge and opinion on menopause and possible cultural influence factors. The results showed that 70% of the migrant vs. 90% of the German women regarded menopause as a normal phase in a women's life and more Turkish than German women (35% vs. 7%) associated complaints with menopause. However the immigrant women knew noticeably less about health risks related to menopause (10% vs. 50%).

Adult↗

Knowledge among German and Turkish women about specifically female bodily functions, contraception, preventative medical examinations and menopause.

The legally binding consent of a patient to surgical operations of certain diagnostic measures during hospitalisation is actually guaranteed only in cases where the medical information is oriented to the individual level of understanding of the patient. The real extent of actual knowledge about health relevant aspects is not always known. Immigrant women constitute a large portion of the patients in big German cities. In most clinics the difficulties in communication caused by persistent language barriers are not presently being solved in a satisfactory manner. In light of this situation, it seemed necessary to ascertain the knowledge of German and Turkish women with respect to specifically female bodily functions, contraception, preventative medical examinations and menopause. The study included a total of 320 German and 262 Turkish patients of both gynaecological units at the Virchow Women's Clinic in Berlin during the 1 1/2-year inquiry period (1997/98). The questionnaire we used was laid out in multiple choice format, whereby each question was provided with a list of possible answers (level of significance p < 0.05). Only a small portion of the general female populace (approximately 13% of the study population, 22% of German patients) is well-to-very-well informed about 'specific female bodily functions, anatomy, preventative health care and contraception', and this proportion is even smaller among Turkish female patients (3% of Turkish women surveyed). While the understanding demonstrated by immigrants who possessed strong writing skills in German is nearly as great as that of the German group, the proportion of patients who demonstrated less sophisticated understanding was still twice as high with 32.5% as compared to that of the German group (15%). According to the opinion of approximately one-third of the Turkish immigrants (German women 8.2%) surveyed, there are no (increased) health risks associated with menopause.

Contraception↗

[What Turkish-speaking women expect in a German hospital and how satisfied they are with health care during their stay in a gynaecological hospital in Berlin - a comparative approach].

Although cultural diversity in German metropolises is rapidly increasing, immigrant patients are rarely included in clinical studies. Specific needs of these patients are hardly known. In a comparative study, 320 German and 262 Turkish immigrant women, respectively, were interviewed via bilingual questionnaires to assess their expectations from and their satisfaction with provided health care services. While no significant differences could be found between basic expectations concerning anticipated health care standards between the two study groups, women of Turkish origin were markedly less satisfied with provided health care services. High expectations of immigrant patients towards information during their stay, communication with doctors and nurses and psychosocial services were only insufficiently met. The results indicate that specific health-relevant factors, such as social and educational status, knowledge of German language and health knowledge together with structural deficiencies of a health care service that is not prepared to correspond properly to patients of different social and cultural backgrounds, have a negative impact on patient satisfaction for migrant women.

Adult↗