Ethnic minority women’s experiences of healthcare in a diverse urban area in Denmark: Implications for midwifery and local women’s health services – a qualitative study

PROBLEM: Ethnic minority women face barriers to accessing and benefiting from healthcare in high-income countries. BACKGROUND: To reduce health inequities, international and Danish guidelines recommend locally based, cross-sectoral interventions. Midwifery-led continuity of care has shown promising outcomes, yet the role and recognition of midwives vary globally. AIM: To explore how ethnic minority women in Denmark perceive the healthcare system and the role of midwives, what it means for them to feel cared for, and their perspectives on a proposed local women's health clinic. METHODS: An exploratory qualitative study combining participant observation with twelve semi-structured interviews was conducted with women from diverse non-Western backgrounds. FINDINGS: Six main themes emerged: (1) healthcare was perceived as doctor-dominated; (2) women expressed gratitude alongside mixed experiences with services; (3) midwives were perceived as having both 'best' and 'worst' potential; (4) a women's health clinic was seen as a local, flexible, and safe space; (5) presence, confidentiality, and openness were essential for feeling cared for; (6) sharing cultural background with providers was not consistently perceived as beneficial. DISCUSSION: Women's multifaceted needs contrasted with the scope of available services and with their own perceptions of the healthcare system. Care was experienced as dynamic social practices producing both belonging and exclusion, as well as ambivalent feelings. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest care models that respond to inequality by reshaping how and where services are provided. Midwives could assume a broader role in such models but need to clearly articulate their competencies to women and communities.