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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Disaster and Emergency Medicine
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1411738
This article is part of the Research Topic Global Health and Warfare: Assessing the Broad Impacts of Conflict on Public Health View all articles

Experiences and Challenges of Refugees from Ukraine in Accessing Healthcare and Social Services During Their Integration in Lithuania

Provisionally accepted
Rita Urbanavičė Rita Urbanavičė 1*Rabie Adel Rabie Adel 2Vaiva Hendrixson Vaiva Hendrixson 1Donatas Austys Donatas Austys 1Agnė Jakavonytė- Akstinienė Agnė Jakavonytė- Akstinienė 1Marija Skvarčevskaja Marija Skvarčevskaja 1Natalja Istomina Natalja Istomina 1
  • 1 Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
  • 2 Vilnius University, Vilnius, Vilnius, Lithuania

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: The influx of Ukrainian refugees to Lithuania due to the ongoing conflict has created substantial challenges in healthcare and social services. Objective: To identify the key challenges faced by Ukrainian refugees in accessing healthcare and social services in Lithuania. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 22 Russian-speaking female Ukrainian refugees residing in urban areas of Lithuania. Data were collected between July and October 2022 and analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis to identify key themes related to healthcare access, social services, and integration. Findings: Refugees reported significant barriers, including language difficulties, long waiting times for healthcare services, and inconsistent access to social services, particularly in rural areas. Despite access to free healthcare, the quality and timeliness of services were often inadequate, exacerbating challenges for those with pre-existing health conditions. Psychological support services were underutilized, and language barriers impeded access to both healthcare and employment opportunities. Coordination between social and healthcare services was lacking, creating further difficulties for refugees in navigating essential services. Conclusion: While Lithuanian authorities have provided critical support, significant gaps remain in healthcare access and social service coordination. Urgent improvements are needed in language support, psychological care, and healthcare accessibility, particularly in rural areas. These findings highlight the need for targeted policies to address these challenges and ensure equitable access to services for all refugees. Future research should include more diverse refugee populations to guide comprehensive policy development.

    Keywords: Ukrainian refugees, Healthcare access, Social Services, language barriers, integration, Lithuania, Refugee health

    Received: 30 Apr 2024; Accepted: 07 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Urbanavičė, Adel, Hendrixson, Austys, Jakavonytė- Akstinienė, Skvarčevskaja and Istomina. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Rita Urbanavičė, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.