Navigating Cultural, Health, and Information Landscapes: A User-focused Approach to Immigrant Health in a Nordic Context

This dissertation undertakes a comprehensive investigation into the health
information behaviours and health service requirements of immigrants, asylum
seekers, and refugees across Nordic countries of Norway, Finland, and Sweden.
The study presents valuable findings concerning the complex interplay among
cultural factors, social networks, and personal experiences, thereby deepening
our current understanding of the health behaviours displayed by these
communities. This study explicitly includes immigrants, asylum seekers, and
those denied asylum, acknowledging that the circumstances and contexts in
which people experience health information needs might then differ.
This thesis integrates data obtained from six academic articles and employs
diverse research methodologies to investigate this intricate subject matter. The
research employs various qualitative and quantitative methodologies, such as
systematic literature reviews, semi-structured interviews, and structured
surveys. The use of mixed methodologies ensures comprehensive and rigorous
approach to the investigation.
Rather than focusing on particular mental or physical health conditions, the
studies included in this analysis take a broader perspective by assessing the
overall well-being of the populations being studied. This approach enables the
integration of various perspectives towards health-related behaviours and
needs of these communities, thereby augmenting the scope and depth of
scholarly comprehension in this domain. Furthermore, this thesis addresses the
influence of cultural, traditional, and social factors on health beliefs and healthseeking
behaviours among asylum seekers and refugees.
Understanding health susceptibility perceptions among asylum seekers and
those denied asylum in Finland, Norway, and Sweden, offers a novel perspective
on this issue. The thesis identifies a variety of internal and external cues that
motivate health-related behaviour in these populations.
The proposed conceptual model that investigates the impact of health beliefs,
information access, and cultural influences on health behaviours and outcomes
among immigrants in Nordic countries is a significant contribution to this
dissertation. This paradigm captures the complexity of these factors and
promotes a more context-aware, user-centred design approach. It corresponds
with the person-in-context perspective and the social determinants of health
framework, advocating for the indispensable role of information professionals in
providing culturally appropriate health information.
The theoretical underpinning of this thesis spans on multiple
interdisciplinary fields, including information system design, service design,
behavioural studies, social science, human-computer interaction (HCI), user
experience (UX) design, patient-centred design, human-centred design methods,
and designing for health equity, among others.
The findings of this thesis provide policymakers, healthcare providers, and
information professionals involved in devising and delivering health services for
immigrant populations with invaluable insights. It requires the implementation
of user-centred design principles, cultural sensitivity, and inclusive approaches
in the creation of information systems and services, highlighting strategies to
integrate health information services into broader social and cultural contexts.
This strategy promotes health information equity and has the potential to
enhance immigrant populations' health outcomes.