Exploring barriers to primary care for migrants in Greece in times of austerity: Perspectives of service providers

Figures & data

Table 1. Participants’ profile.

	n
Gender	n
Men	3
Women	6
Age, years
18–30	1
31–54	7
55+	1
Nationality/ethnicity
Greek	8
Dutch	1
Stakeholder group
Primary care doctors	5
Primary care nurses	4

Table 2. PLA techniques used in the focus group discussions.

Commentary charts	Team-generated records of stakeholders’ discussions about the guideline separated into three categories: positive aspects, negative aspects and questions to be checked out.
Flexible brainstorming	Fast and creative approach of using materials to generate information and ideas about the topic.
Direct ranking	A transparent and democratic process that enables a group of stakeholders to indicate priorities or preferences, by ranking the guideline as ‘most suitable’ to ‘least suitable’ for implementation in RESTORE.

Table 3. Quotes under the three main themes.

Theme 1. Emphasis on major challenges in healthcare provision
Quote 1 What we care about right now is the shortage of equipment and staff not the language difficulties that migrants face…. (GP7)	Quote 2 It doesn’t matter if they are migrants or Greeks … all patients are underserved and the whole healthcare system is at risk… (GP4)	Quote 3 If a migrant is unable to speak in our native language then it is their responsibility to bring an interpreter with them, at our health centre we are so understaffed; we don’t have the time to worry about the migrant that cannot speak Greek…. (GP1)	Quote 4 I am not sure if such initiatives (introducing interpreting services) are doable …. there are people with chronic diseases that are not eligible of treatment and medication anymore!! (PHC Nurse 1)
Theme 2. Low perceived control and effectiveness to support migrant healthcare
Quote 1 … (a guideline to support cross-cultural consultation) is extremely difficult to implement in Greece, as we do not have registered interpreters for any healthcare setting…. (PHC nurse 3).	Quote 2 … people from certain migrant groups do not speak Greek fluently and we don’t have the language skills or the time to understand them … we try to do our best with the contribution of the people that accompany them … [as informal interpreters]. (GP1)	Quote 3 … this is important and necessary in primary care (to introduce interpreters) but seems very difficult, if not impossible, to bring policy changes at this time (of the financial crisis)…. (GP4)	Quote 4 We are going through a difficult time in Greece now and we are doubtful if this (introducing interpreting services) will be accepted (by central healthcare authorities) as migrants are not a priority…. (GP2)
Theme 3. Attention to impoverished local population
Quote 1 … there are many Greek families starving to death while migrants enjoy great privileges as a result of their status …. (GP1)	Quote 2 … if I had a migrant and a Greek in the patients’ list I would give priority to the Greek…. they are suffering a lot and they deserve to be treated first in their own country. (PHC nurse 2)	Quote 3 I have so many poor people in my patient list … I don’t know any more who is most in need … the only thing I know is that many Greek people can’t even buy their medication anymore and this is the most important right now …. (GP7)