The Perception of Nurses about Migrants after the COVID-19 Pandemic: Close Contact Improves the Relationship

Paula Berenguel Chacón, Fernando Jesús Plaza del Pino (), Brigida Molina-Gallego and María Idoia Ugarte-Gurrutxaga
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Paula Berenguel Chacón: Centre for Migration Studies and Intercultural Relations, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Fernando Jesús Plaza del Pino: Centre for Migration Studies and Intercultural Relations, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Brigida Molina-Gallego: Research Group Nursing, Pain and Care (ENDOCU), Campus Tecnológico Fábrica de Armas, University of Castilla la Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain
María Idoia Ugarte-Gurrutxaga: Research Group Nursing, Pain and Care (ENDOCU), Campus Tecnológico Fábrica de Armas, University of Castilla la Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 2, 1-14

Abstract: Nurses have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic a tough professional situation in which they have had to work in a resource-limited context and with a high probability of COVID-19 transmission. In today’s multicultural societies, care for immigrant patients is also included. In our study, we have delved into the perception of hospital nurses towards migrant people in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a qualitative methodology with a phenomenological approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 nurses. Seven categories emerged and were distributed in the three blocks of the interviews: (a) perception before the pandemic: prejudices make a mark and communication problems; (b) perception after the pandemic: prejudices weaken and communication worsens; and (c) how to improve care: improve communication, more nurses, and no need for training. The approach in the interpersonal relationship between nurses and patients during the pandemic has improved health care. Proposals arise to overcome the language barrier such as the incorporation of intercultural translators-mediators and professionals of foreign origin. There is a lack of awareness of the need for training in cultural competence on the part of the nurses in the study.

Keywords: COVID-19; communication; cultural competence; migrants; nursing; qualitative research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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