Functional health literacy of asylum seekers and refugees. A pilot study in Italy

Context: literature shows how some groups of population, among which are the people seeking International Protection and the Refugees, find difficult to access services in National Health Systems. Usually, Asylum Seekers have limited Health Literacy (HL) that makes understanding the appropriate health information difficult. The objective is to consider the relationship between how people requesting International Protection and Refugees approach the Italian Health System to request health services and their level of Functional Health Literacy (FHL). The Method used is a mixed approach. Data were obtained using several tools: a self-administered questionnaire in which the subjects revealed social and demographic data and a face to face interview together with the S-FHL Scale fulfilment in order to identify the functional level of HL. 21 subjects were interviewed in two centers of Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees (SPRAR). Results show a picture of the actual situation. Data report a problematic or insufficient FHL level. Some factors, such as gender, age and health perceptions, play a role in the FHL levels. Some racial prejudices were reported. Language barrier had the most impact on the communication gap. Nevertheless, none of the subjects were denied health services. In conclusion, although this study is a pilot, we have experienced difficulty in obtaining Asylum Seekers trust to be open about their experience. Our results are in accordance with literature for inadequate level of FHL and lack of knowledge of the Italian Health System. This study highlighted several other issues to be taken into consideration for future research on the team.