According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR, 2022[ED1] ), 65.6 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide (Müller et al., 2018). The impact of forcible displacement on healthcare is particularly pertinent, with more than 8 million refugees from Ukraine across Europe (UNHCR[ED2] , 2023) Ukrainian refugees now comprise 1.5% of Ireland’s population, encountering challenges accessing and utilising healthcare (Irish Times, 2023). While challenges navigating health systems due to legal, linguistic, administrative, and knowledge barriers is well established, progress appears limited with challenges persisting across time, contexts and cultural groups (Nowak et al., 2022). While refugees are entitled to access healthcare support, research suggests that mental health care is often ignored (Lebano et al., 2020).
This research seeks to understand the healthcare experiences of Ukrainian Refugees in Ireland, with a particular focus on mental health supports. Specifically, the unmet mental health needs of these refugees, and will explore the barriers and facilitators to accessing healthcare and supports to address mental health. This project will advance on the work of by Szajna and Ward (2015), and will explore the impacts of language, legal and administrative hurdles, cultural differences, logistics and discrimination on healthcare utilization and outcomes. Therefore, the hypothesis for this study is that Ukrainian refugees in Ireland may face inadequate access to healthcare due to language, legal, and cultural barriers, potentially leading to poorer mental health outcomes
Healthcare experiences of these refugees will be examined, aiming to uncover the unique challenges they face and highlight the need for adaptable and inclusive healthcare, not only for Ukrainian refugees but for all refugees. The aim is to contribute insights that extend beyond this population, informing initiatives to enhance healthcare for refugees at large. Aspiring to inform policies and practices that foster a more inclusive and responsive healthcare environment for refugees.
[ED1]https://www.unhcr.org/ie/about-unhcr/who-we-are/figures-glance
[ED2]https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine