Actively Recruiting
Maternity Care Experiences of Asylum-seeking and Refugee Women in Scotland
Led by University of Aberdeen · Updated on 2025-04-15
300
Participants Needed
1
Research Sites
134 weeks
Total Duration
On this page
AI-Summary
What this Trial Is About
The International Organisation of Migration reports that over half (52.4%) of international migrants in Europe are women. Evidence suggests that women with immigrant backgrounds often struggle to access healthcare across the world. Among migrant women, asylum-seeking and refugee women face higher risks of poor pregnancy and birth outcomes, including babies with low birth weight, physical and/or mental health problems or death related to pregnancy and/or childbirth. Previous studies have focused on immigrant women's experiences of care during pregnancy and birth and did not differentiate between asylum seekers, refugees, and economic migrants. This can make it difficult to compare studies accurately. This study focuses on asylum-seeking and refugee women, using the definitions provided by the United Nations. Asylum-seeking women refer to women who seek protection in a country other than their own and are waiting for a decision on their status. Asylum seekers become refugees once their application has been processed and accepted. A scoping review was conducted to understand the experiences of asylum-seeking and refugee women accessing maternity care in the United Kingdom( UK), focusing on Scotland. The review found that all studies that focused on the experiences of asylum-seeking and refugee women accessing maternity care were mainly based in England. The review identified the presence of specialist migrant services in maternity settings in Scotland and across the UK. Still, there was no information on their implementation or impact on women's outcomes. Additionally, there is limited evidence in the UK on the perceptions of healthcare professionals providing care to asylum-seeking and refugee women. This study aims to close this gap in research by exploring this area more deeply in Scotland through mixed-methods studies of surveys with asylum-seeking and refugee women and interviews with maternity care leaders, policymakers, maternity healthcare professionals, and asylum-seeking and refugee women.
CONDITIONS
Official Title
Maternity Care Experiences of Asylum-seeking and Refugee Women in Scotland
Who Can Participate
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if you...
- Women aged 16 and over
- Women who are or were pregnant within the last 5 years
- Women who lived in Scotland within the last 5 years and used NHS maternity services
- Women who were asylum-seeking or refugee at the time of pregnancy
- Ability to understand written or spoken English, Arabic, Persian, or Urdu sufficiently to complete the survey or participate in interviews
- Healthcare professionals currently employed in NHS Scotland maternity services, including health care support workers, midwives, doctors, obstetricians, and maternity care leaders/managers (for interview phase)
You will not qualify if you...
- Women who are economic migrants, illegal migrants, or held British citizenship at the time of pregnancy and maternity service use within the last 5 years in Scotland
- Women who are asylum-seeking or refugee women living in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland
- Women with insufficient English, Arabic, Persian, or Urdu to participate in the survey or interviews
- Healthcare professionals working outside of maternity services (for interview phase)
AI-Screening
AI-Powered Screening
Complete this quick 3-step screening to check your eligibility
Trial Site Locations
Total: 1 location
1
NHS Grampian
Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Actively Recruiting
Research Team
M
Mairead Black, PhD
CONTACT
H
Heba Farajallah, MSc, PhD student
CONTACT
How is the study designed?
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Masking
N/A
Allocation
N/A
Model
N/A
Primary Purpose
N/A
Number of Arms
0
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