Table 2 Theme 1. Women living as undocumented migrants experience acute distress when suffering subpar and neglectful treatment in clinical encounters
Sub-categories | Categories | Theme |
|---|---|---|
Having prescriptions being filled out incorrectly Healthcare staff questioning women’s right to services Being prepared for having to argue for their rights to Healthcare access Fearing misinformed staff would contact authorities Having experienced being denied care, including emergency care Having to pay in full due to lacking documentation or later receiving fee invoices Encountering uniformed healthcare staff diminished help-seeking behaviors and caused distress | Experiencing deficits in healthcare personnel’s awareness and knowledge | |
Observing healthcare personnel’s behaviors closely to assess intentions Feeling ignored, devalued, and questioned Fearing being treated inadequately and unequally Not receiving care and information induced acute distress Healthcare professionals normalized women’s concerns, and did not take concerns seriously Fearing being assessed as parents and reported Distrusting medical competence Perceiving intolerance/inflexibility in healthcare staff Feeling healthcare professionals were uninterested | Suspecting adverse intentions and perceiving neglectful behavior in healthcare professionals | Experiencing acute distress when suffering subpar and neglectful clinical encounters |
Being informed of potentially adverse pregnancy outcomes induced acute panic Healthcare staff’s inability to communicate risks involved in complications caused confusion Having feelings of ambiguous and guild surrounding abilities as mothers when being informed of adverse outcomes Feeling an extreme lack of control in their circumstance and in their ability to convey their needs Fears of being deceived induced further distrust Fearing being misinterpreted by professional interprets | The need for functional communication with healthcare personnel and interpreters |