Maternity Care Experiences of Asylum-seeking and Refugee Women in Scotland

NCT06354751 | Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: 327236
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 300
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

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

Refugee; Asylum-seeking Women; Maternity

Keywords

maternity care; Scotland; experiences

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Exploring and understanding asylum-seeking and refugee women's experiences of maternity care in Scotland.

  A survey will be conducted to assess asylum-seeking and refugee women's experiences of maternity care in Scotland. This will be followed by a qualitative phase, during which semi-structured interviews with asylum-seeking and refugee women will provide an in-depth understanding of the findings of the survey.

  by May 2025

• Evidence of HCP's experiences of providing maternity care for asylum-seeking and refugee women in Scotland.

  In depth semi-structured interviews will be offered to HCPs to explore their experiences of providing care to asylum seeking and refugee women in maternity services in Scotland.

  by May 2025

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Identification of the successful components of specialist migrant maternity services in Scotland.

  by May 2025

• Identification of gaps between care pathways and practice (implementation gap) and how this affects the quality of maternity care and women's experiences of maternity services

  by May 2025

• Information for policymakers on approaches needed to improve maternity care for refugee and asylum-seeking women at local and national levels.

  by May 2025

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 16 Years - 50 Years
• Sex: female
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population for the survey consists of asylum-seeking and refugee women who were pregnant or who had been pregnant in Scotland the last five years, regardless of the outcome of pregnancy ( e.g live birth, stillbirth, miscarriage or abortion). The study population for the interviews consists of two samples. First, asylum-seeking and refugee women who are pregnant or who had been pregnant in Scotland in the last five years, regardless of the outcome of pregnancy (e.g live birth, stillbirth, miscarriage or abortion). Second, the HCPs who are providing care to those women in maternity services in Scotland.

You may qualify if:

• Women aged 16 and over.
• Women who are or were or had been pregnant within the last 5 years.
• Women who were living in Scotland within the last 5 years and used National Health Service (NHS) maternity services.
• Asylum-seeking woman at the time of being pregnant or Refugee woman at the time of being pregnant.
• Able to understand written or spoken English, Arabic, Persian or Urdu sufficiently to complete the survey.

You may not qualify if:

• Women who are economic migrants or illegal migrants or hold British citizenship at the time of being pregnant and using maternity services within last five years in Scotland.
• Women who are asylum-seeking or refugee women and live in England or Wales or Northern Ireland.
• Women with insufficient English, Arabic, Persian or Urdu to participate in the online survey.
• (Second phase: interview)
• Women aged 16 and over.
• Women who can provide verbal or written consent.
• Women who are currently pregnant or have been pregnant within the last 5 years.
• Women who were living in Scotland within the last 5 years and used NHS maternity services.
• Asylum-seeking woman at the time of being pregnant or Refugee woman at the time of being pregnant.
• Able to understand written or spoken English or Arabic sufficiently to participate in the interview.
• Women who are economic migrants or illegal migrants or hold/held British citizenship at the time of being pregnant and used maternity services within last five years in Scotland.
• Women who are asylum-seeking or refugee women and live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
• Women with insufficient English or Arabic to participate in the interviews.
• Currently employed in NHS Scotland in maternity services, including:
• health care support worker,

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Aberdeen: lead

Study Sites (1)

NHS Grampian

Aberdeen, United Kingdom

RECRUITING

Study Officials

• Mairead Black, PhD

  UoA Reader

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Mairead Black, PhD

CONTACT

01224 438437; mairead.black@abdn.ac.uk

Heba Farajallah, MSc, PhD student

CONTACT

07964332901; h.farajallah.20@abdn.ac.uk

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: OTHER
• Time Perspective: OTHER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 3, 2024
• First Posted: April 9, 2024
• Study Start: May 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: April 30, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 30, 2026
• Last Updated: April 15, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

GB (1)