Research project

Transnational healthcare and wellbeing among Polish migrants in the UK

Project overview

Extending our research conducted under the 'UK in a Changing Europe' initiative, this project focuses on the health and care practices of EU migrants. It is crucial to broaden our knowledge of such practices and assess how they are likely to change in light of the uncertainty with regards to international mobility brought by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is important to understand the attitudes and experiences of Polish nationals since they constitute the biggest group of EU (and non-British) population in the UK. Like other EU citizens, Poles are prone to travel back to their country of origin for medical treatment and they often resort to the private sector, in Poland or the UK. As part of this project, we have collected national level primary data on how Poles in the UK manage their health by travelling and by accessing public and private services. In particular, the project focuses on those who are likely to be in continuous contact with health service providers because they are affected by, or are caring for someone with, a long-term condition or disability.

Methodologically, the project consists of two interrelated phases. Firstly, between November 2019 and January 2020, we have gathered both quantitative and qualitative data from 510 Poles living in the UK by the means of an online questionnaire. Informed by this, in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with thirty-two survey respondents. We are currently analysing our data in order to broaden how transnational healthcare is conceptualized, develop our knowledge of health-seeking behaviours that show migrant's engagements with both states and markets, and deepen our understanding of intergenerational caring practices.

Staff

Lead researchers

Professor Athina Vlachantoni

Professor of Gerontology & Social Policy

Research interests

  • Informal care provision and receipt
  • Unmet need for social care
  • Pension protection
Connect with Athina

Collaborating research institutes, centres and groups

Research outputs

Giuseppe Troccoli, Chris Moreh, Derek P Mcghee & Athina Vlachantoni, 2022, BMC Health Services Research, 22(1316), 1-12
Type: article
Giuseppe Troccoli, Chris Moreh, Derek McGhee & Athina Vlachantoni, 2021, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 48(9), 1998–2017
Type: article