Does low accessibility of ambulatory care drive high utilization of emergency care among asylum-seekers?
We examined this question by analyzing interrelations between physical, chronic and mental health needs and utilization of ambulatory and emergency care, while explicitly addressing associations between the different types of care.
We found no evidence that low utilization of ambulatory care contributes to emergency care use; neither did we find evidence that ambulatory treatment obviates the need to seek emergency care. Our results indicate differences in asylum-seekers’ healthcare seeking for different health needs:
Physical healthcare needs and anxiety are associated with higher utilization of ambulatory AND emergency care (“at random”); whereas asylum-seekers with depressive symptoms tend to not seek any services.
Both the undirected and under-utilization of health services reflect navigation and accessibility issues. Support services such as interpretation and care navigation as well as outreach are therefore warranted.
Many thanks to the RESPOND team, to our respondents, and of course to co-author Martin Siegel!
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