The lived experience of migrant Syrian mothers’ interaction with the neonatal screening program
Abstract Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of migrant Syrian mothers regarding the neonatal screening programs (NSP) using in-depth interviews. Methods Women were selected from the Migrant Health Center (MHC), which is the primary health care in...
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2025-02-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21695-7 |
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| author | Mehmet Akif Sezerol Zeynep Meva Altaş Emrullah Arslan |
| author_facet | Mehmet Akif Sezerol Zeynep Meva Altaş Emrullah Arslan |
| author_sort | Mehmet Akif Sezerol |
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| description | Abstract Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of migrant Syrian mothers regarding the neonatal screening programs (NSP) using in-depth interviews. Methods Women were selected from the Migrant Health Center (MHC), which is the primary health care institution in Istanbul. A translator who spoke Arabic, the native language of participants, used an open-ended, semi-structed interview form to guide face-to-face interviews with participants. Questions were about sociodemographic information, opinions about NSP’s heel prick testing, diseases the test screens for, reasons for agreeing to the heel prick test, and challenges faced accessing health care services. The interviews were audio recorded. The translator then transcribed the audio recordings in Arabic and translated them into Turkish. The framework method for analysis of qualitative data was used to analyze transcripts of the interviews. Results Forty-one migrant women were interviewed. Four themes were identified from analysis of transcripts of the interviews, regarding (1) knowledge of the NSP, (2) attitudes about the NSP, (3) practices that create barriers to accessing health care services, (4) practices to overcome barriers to accessing health care services. Most participants had no knowledge of the diseases the NSP tests for. A few participants had heard of congenital hypothyroidism (CH), congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), but they were not aware of the symptoms and effects of these diseases. Some participants thought the heel prick test benefited their child’s health as it enables early diagnosis and treatment of diseases. All participants agree to heal prick testing after the birth of their most recent child. Participants noted the information and recommendations health care professionals provided influenced their decision to agree to the heel prick test. Most participants experienced language barriers when accessing health care services. Conclusions Migrant women expressed a positive attitude toward the NSP. Future health care interventions regarding migrants should aim to reduce the negative experiences they encounter accessing health care, such as language barriers. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-588f2c0a3d244b039aea2f0e8f431129 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-588f2c0a3d244b039aea2f0e8f4311292025-02-09T12:58:30ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582025-02-012511910.1186/s12889-025-21695-7The lived experience of migrant Syrian mothers’ interaction with the neonatal screening programMehmet Akif Sezerol0Zeynep Meva Altaş1Emrullah Arslan2Epidemiology Program, Institute of Health Sciences, Istanbul Medipol UniversityMaltepe District Health DirectorateDepartment of Pediatric Endocrinology, İzmir City HospitalAbstract Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of migrant Syrian mothers regarding the neonatal screening programs (NSP) using in-depth interviews. Methods Women were selected from the Migrant Health Center (MHC), which is the primary health care institution in Istanbul. A translator who spoke Arabic, the native language of participants, used an open-ended, semi-structed interview form to guide face-to-face interviews with participants. Questions were about sociodemographic information, opinions about NSP’s heel prick testing, diseases the test screens for, reasons for agreeing to the heel prick test, and challenges faced accessing health care services. The interviews were audio recorded. The translator then transcribed the audio recordings in Arabic and translated them into Turkish. The framework method for analysis of qualitative data was used to analyze transcripts of the interviews. Results Forty-one migrant women were interviewed. Four themes were identified from analysis of transcripts of the interviews, regarding (1) knowledge of the NSP, (2) attitudes about the NSP, (3) practices that create barriers to accessing health care services, (4) practices to overcome barriers to accessing health care services. Most participants had no knowledge of the diseases the NSP tests for. A few participants had heard of congenital hypothyroidism (CH), congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), but they were not aware of the symptoms and effects of these diseases. Some participants thought the heel prick test benefited their child’s health as it enables early diagnosis and treatment of diseases. All participants agree to heal prick testing after the birth of their most recent child. Participants noted the information and recommendations health care professionals provided influenced their decision to agree to the heel prick test. Most participants experienced language barriers when accessing health care services. Conclusions Migrant women expressed a positive attitude toward the NSP. Future health care interventions regarding migrants should aim to reduce the negative experiences they encounter accessing health care, such as language barriers.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21695-7Newborn screening programHeel prick testDetection of diseasesMigrants |
| spellingShingle | Mehmet Akif Sezerol Zeynep Meva Altaş Emrullah Arslan The lived experience of migrant Syrian mothers’ interaction with the neonatal screening program BMC Public Health Newborn screening program Heel prick test Detection of diseases Migrants |
| title | The lived experience of migrant Syrian mothers’ interaction with the neonatal screening program |
| title_full | The lived experience of migrant Syrian mothers’ interaction with the neonatal screening program |
| title_fullStr | The lived experience of migrant Syrian mothers’ interaction with the neonatal screening program |
| title_full_unstemmed | The lived experience of migrant Syrian mothers’ interaction with the neonatal screening program |
| title_short | The lived experience of migrant Syrian mothers’ interaction with the neonatal screening program |
| title_sort | lived experience of migrant syrian mothers interaction with the neonatal screening program |
| topic | Newborn screening program Heel prick test Detection of diseases Migrants |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21695-7 |
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