“One-time interventions, it doesn’t lead to much” – healthcare provider views to improving sexual and reproductive health services for young migrants in Sweden

BACKGROUND: Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) is an important aspect for young people. In Sweden, young migrants often encounter barriers to accessing and using sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, despite that these services are free of charge for young people (ages 15–25). Healthcare providers’ views and best practices are of great importance for improving the utilisation of existing SRH services, particularly for young people. This study aims to understand healthcare providers’ experiences and perspectives on barriers to SRHR among young migrants and their suggestions for strategies to improve the provision of SRH services to this group. METHODS: Midwives, counsellors and nurses with at least five years of professional experience within SRHR were reached through a purposeful sample at primary care clinics, specialised clinics and youth-friendly clinics, which provide SRH services to migrant youths in Stockholm. Twelve interviews were conducted from May 2018 to February 2020. Qualitative content analysis was performed. RESULTS: The analysis identified one theme: Improving the fragmentation in the SRH services, and four sub-themes: 1. Being unaware of SRHR; 2. Creating trust and responsive interactions; 3. Communicating in the same language; and 4. Collaborating to build bridges. The barriers included distrust in the healthcare system, socio-cultural norms surrounding SRHR, incomplete translations, and a need for long-lasting collaboration with SRH services and other range of services for migrants. The strategies for improvement as suggested by participants included involving existing cultural groups and organisations to enable trust, consistent and dependable interpreters, a streamline of SRH services with other healthcare staff and health facilities, and collaborations with homes designated for young migrants and language schools for a direct linkage to service providers. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that there are fragmentations in SRH services, and these include lack of knowledge about SRHR among migrant youth, language and communication barriers, and a lack of structure needed to build dependable services that go beyond one-time interventions. While initiatives and strategies from healthcare providers for improvement of SRH services exist, the implementation of some strategies may also require involving the regional and national decision-makers and multi-stakeholders like communities, civil society and young migrants themselves.