Read an article published on 5/5/2020: Health care clients have to be encountered as individuals
Why is the MATEAS-project required?
Healthcare for immigrants in Finland has organized in such way that reception centers have taken responsibility for asylum seekers’ healthcare services and immigrants with residence permits use the same services as the native population. This practice has proven that immigrants are prone to seeking out healthcare from units meant for acute treatment and emergencies, even though their health situation does not warrant it. As such, the immigrants might not receive the treatment they are looking for and as a result the situation is generating frustration among healthcare professionals.
MATEAS project’s goal is to make Finnish healthcare services – and the organizational actors supporting them – more transparent and accessible for immigrants from third world countries, who are also eligible to join the events and activities organized by the project (excluding asylum seekers). The procedures developed in the project aim to make it easier for immigrants to use healthcare services as clients within the system.
MATEAS-project functions
- Visualization of the immigrants’ path within the healthcare system
- Mapping of actors within the immigrants’ healthcare services
- Mapping of the immigrants’ path as clients of healthcare services
- Make it easier for immigrants to find the services they need
- Induction-model of Finnish healthcare services to immigrants, with piloting
- Support material for the induction process
- Map-based application that guides towards required healthcare services
- Audiovisual material (i.e. videos) about the usage of healthcare service
- Picture cards for situations where common language cannot be found
- Development of multicultural training for healthcare professionals and third sector operators
- Multicultural training with piloting
- Introduction to the subject: two short films about the stories of immigrants
- Development and streamlining of project organizations’ customer- and service-based processes
- Identifying development needs, developing service models and piloting
- Distribution of operating models and materials developed in the project
Basic Information about the MATEAS-project
MATEAS-project is funded by the European Union Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) as well as co-financing from the project organization. The project runs for three years (1.2.2017-31.1.2020). MATEAS is coordinated by Tampere University of Applied Sciences and its project partners are the Federation of Tampere Ev. Luth. Parishes, City of Tampere and Tampere University Hospital.
Project objectives
- Identify the operators working with immigrants’ health care
- Identify the development needs of health care services from immigrants’ point of view and develop processes
- Develop an orientation program for Finnish health care services for immigrants
- Develop multicultural education for health care professionals and non-governmental operators
- Identifying the development needs of health care services from immigrants point of view and develop processes
- Dissemination and exploitation of developed health care service models
Project outputs
- Workshops
- Gather information, interviews and surveys
- Develop an operating model
- Produce audiovisual material
- Produce application for mobile devices
- Develop multicultural education
- Produce two short films for education purposes
- Pilot the orientation and education programs
- Develop the models and education packages further
Project Coordinator:
Tampere University of Applied Sciences
Project Partners:
City Of Tampere
Tampere University Hospital
Federation of Tampere Ev. Luth. Parishes
Information:
Project Manager
Tutta Tanttari
tutta.tanttari (at)tuni.fi