Experiences of healthcare workers in providing services to migrants in Botswana

The experiences, perceptions and attitudes of healthcare providers play a crucial role in shaping migrants’ access to and quality of healthcare services. While the existing literature extensively examines migrants’ access to health care, it provides limited insight into the challenges health professionals face in providing care to this population. This study examines the experiences of healthcare providers in Botswana focusing on their attitudes, challenges and perceptions in providing care to migrants. A descriptive qualitative design was adopted. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 healthcare workers between May 2019 and July 2019. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analysed to identify recurring patterns and themes. Health professionals in different service sectors experienced similar difficulties in providing care to migrants. Healthcare providers noted that they encountered several difficulties when working with migrants, such as issues associated with referring migrant patients, limited understanding among migrants of the local healthcare system, communication obstacles, financial hurdles, and constraints in delivering healthcare to migrants. The study highlights systemic and communication barriers that hinder healthcare for migrants. To address these issues, targeted training is required to enhance cultural competency, enhance communication strategies, and synchronise public health policies with the requirements of the migrant population to decrease ethical dilemmas for health care providers.