Lifestyle Course as an Investment in Perceived Improved Health among Newly Arrived Women from Countries outside Europe

Solvig Ekblad and Ulla-Britt Persson-Valenzuela
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Solvig Ekblad: Cultural Medicine Unit, Department of Learning, Information, Management and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
Ulla-Britt Persson-Valenzuela: Swedish Course for Adult Immigrants. Södertälje Municipality, SE-151 89 Södertälje, Sweden

IJERPH, 2014, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-19

Abstract: Family reunification was the most common reason (34%) for resettlement in Sweden in 2013. About one-fifth of the population is foreign-born. This study used mixed methods to evaluate a culturally tailored clinical health-promotion intervention. The intervention was conducted by licensed clinicians and a local coordinator. Sessions were five-weeks long, two hours a week. The quantitative data cover results from 54 participants, mainly Arabic and Somali-speaking, who participated in 10 groups. The participants’ perceived health improved significantly over the three measures. They also shared that their health significantly improved according to moderate effect size. The qualitative data, analyzed using revised content analysis, reflected one general theme: “the intervention is an investment in perceived improved health”, and four categories: “perceived increased health literacy”, “strength, empowerment and security”, “finding a new lifestyle”, and “the key to entry into Swedish society is language”. An intervention focusing on the prevention of ill-health, on health as a human right, and on empowerment, and aimed at female newcomers, has practical implications.

Keywords: lifestyle course; migration; Sweden; Arabic-speaking; empowerment; health literacy; Somali-speaking; women (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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