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Implementation of intercultural mediation at the primary level in preventive healthcare in Slovenia

Professional Article

Implementation of intercultural mediation at the primary level in preventive healthcare in Slovenia

Professional Article

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Juš Škraban, Nacionalni inštitut za javno zdravje ,

Denis Oprešnik, Nacionalni inštitut za javno zdravje ,

Sara Pistotnik, Filozofska fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani

Uršula Lipovec Čebron, Filozofska fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani


Abstract

This paper describes the implementation of intercultural mediation in Slovene preventive healthcare. We argue that the implementation of intercultural mediation was the result of multiple activities that took place within three intertwined contexts: the research context, the local community context and the national context.

Regarding the research context, the qualitative research conducted in the Together For Health project strived to detect particular needs as expressed by the local community. Among other findings many healthcare workers emphasized linguistic and cultural barriers that arise with foreign-speaking patients and the absence of professional intercultural mediators or interpreters in healthcare institutions. An important result of the research process – especially the interviews and discussions with the Albanian-speaking community – was the identification of a locally active intercultural mediator, Vera Haliti. Once communicated to the local stakeholders, ethnographic research enabled a strong local recognition of the issue and a pilot implementation of intercultural mediation in preventive programmes organized by the Health Promotion Centre in Celje.

With respect to the local community context, the above-mentioned process could not have been possible without the intercultural mediator for the Albanian-speaking community in Celje, whose active engagement was decisive for both local stakeholders' cooperation regarding the Albanian-speaking community and the national decision-makers.

The national context is outlined by the National Institute of Public Health support for intercultural mediation implementation as part of negotiation with the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia, which provided a first step towards systemic funding for intercultural mediation in three localities of the aforementioned project.


Keywords

  • intercultural mediation
  • preventive healthcare
  • primary level of healthcare
  • ethnographic research
  • qualitative methodology