ArticleBMJ open2021
Perspectives on Spain's legislative experience providing access to healthcare to irregular migrants: a qualitative interview study.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Barriers to healthcare access for irregular immigrants after their arrival in Spain: a systematic review.European journal of public health · 2025Pooled it
- Perceptions of and barriers to equitable healthcare access for undocumented populations in Belize: a qualitative study.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- Interventions facilitating access to perinatal care for migrant women without medical insurance: a scoping review.PloS one · 2026Article
- Identifying challenges and enabling factors in utilizing health care services by undocumented immigrant women: a scoping review of qualitative research.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
- Migrant Farmworkers' Acceptability of Health Services in Spain: Barriers and Facilitators Identified by Professionals.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025Article
- Accessibility of healthcare services for seasonal migrant farmworkers in Spain: barriers and facilitators identified by professionals.Journal of migration and health · 2025Article
- Lessons learned from cross-sectoral collaboration to protect migrant farmworkers during COVID-19 in Spain.PloS one · 2025Article
- An intersectional approach on menstrual inequity as lived by women in circumstances of socioeconomic vulnerability in an urban and rural setting in Spain: a qualitative study.Sexual and reproductive health matters · 2024Article
- Social innovation in access to healthcare: community-based health insurance among Senegalese migrants in Spain.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- "No Papers, No Treatment": a scoping review of challenges faced by undocumented immigrants in accessing emergency healthcare.International journal for equity in health · 2024Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesIn 2018, Spain adopted a national law that significantly expanded healthcare access to all residents, including undocumented migrants. This was a substantial shift from a more restrictive system of coverage in previous years. However, irregular migrants continue to experience challenges accessing healthcare in Spain. This study aimed to describe the legislative and administrative barriers to implementation of this law from the perspective of providers and administrators of the healthcare system.
designWe interviewed 12 individuals using a semistructured format.
settingSpain.
participants12 participants were interviewed; 7 males, 5 females. Participants included Spanish healthcare workers, government officials, hospital administrators, individuals working with non-governmental organisations focused on the provision of healthcare, and experts studying healthcare for underserved populations. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Interviews delved into personal experiences and knowledge of the entitlements and barriers of providing or trying to access care for undocumented migrants.
resultsThe interviews yielded eight key themes: (1) context of universal healthcare in Spain pre-2012; (2) erosion of trust as rationale for more restrictive policies of 2012; (3) challenges of the 3-month residency requirement; (4) areas of ambiguity: exceptions in the 2012 Royal Decree Law not discussed in the 2018 Royal Decree Law; (5) jurisdictional authority and conflicts between national and AC government; (6) near impossibility of obtaining documentation for exportation of healthcare; (7) difficulties obtaining necessary paperwork to register residency; and (8) rise of NGOs to provide support to irregular migrants.
conclusionWhile there has been a general political movement to expand healthcare access for undocumented migrants in Spain, there remains a fundamental need to clarify the legal entitlements for undocumented migrants nationally and create administrative consistency across autonomous communities for providing health cards for undocumented migrants. Other countries may be able to draw lessons from the Spanish experience about the legislative frameworks surrounding access to healthcare for undocumented migrants.
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