(P483) International Students' Gaps in SRH Care

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

16:00 – 18:00 CST

Primary Presenter(s)

Fiona Burns

Professor of Epidemiology and HIV
University College London, United Kingdom

Co-author(s)

PA

Pam Alldred

Nottingham Trent University
NOTTINGHAM, United Kingdom
Chloe G. Roesch (she/her/hers)

Doctoral Candidate
Nottingham Trent University
London, England, United Kingdom
PS

Penelope Siebert

penelope.siebert@ntu.ac.uk, United States

Background

International Students account for >20% of university students in the UK. Preliminary research from Australia suggests International Students experience disparate access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) care in host countries. Difficulties exist, however, when translating findings to the UK context due to different International Student demographics and healthcare systems. This research therefore investigates SRH access, outcomes and quality of care in International Students studying in the UK.

Methods

An online survey was completed by 1,042 students (507 International and 535 Domestic Students) studying at 4 UK universities. Between-group comparisons were conducted using Chi-Square and Mann-Whitney U tests on survey questions involving: (i) knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards accessing SRH services in UK; (ii) reported ability to access needed SRH services.

Results

Results indicated significant gaps for International Students in accessing needed SRH care compared to their domestic student counterparts: 55.3% of international students reported successfully accessing needed SRH care, compared with 84.8% of domestic students (p < .001). With respect to SRH knowledge, compared with their domestic student counterparts, international students scored significantly lower on both general SRH knowledge (M=3.3/5 questions correct vs. M=3.8/5, p < .001) and knowledge of SRH service access (M=2.5/5 questions correct vs. M=3.7/5, p < .001).

Discussion

These findings illustrate that, while International Students have broadly comparable levels of SRH knowledge to Domestic Students, clear differences exist with respect to knowledge about accessing SRH services in UK. These results contribute novel insight into how and when in the immigration process International Students should receive SRH information/resources— and the roles of university and healthcare services in delivering these.