Healthcare Expectations and Lived Experiences: Bangladeshi Immigrants' Encounters with the Danish Healthcare System
Author
Hakim, Azizul
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-10-15
Abstract
This thesis examines how Bangladeshi immigrants in Denmark experience and navigate access to the Danish healthcare system, and how their prior experiences with healthcare in Bangladesh shape their expectations and understanding after migration. Drawing on qualitative, semi‑structured interviews with five Bangladeshi immigrants, the study uses thematic analysis with a predominantly inductive approach supported by abductive elements. Three theoretical perspectives – candidacy, prior healthcare experiences and expectations, and recognition – guide the interpretation of how participants negotiate their position as entitled users, make sense of differences between the two healthcare systems, and experience being listened to and taken seriously. The analysis identifies four main themes: learning to navigate an unfamiliar healthcare system, negotiating access and communicating urgency, healthcare expectations across the Danish and Bangladeshi systems, and the experience of being heard and taken seriously. Participants initially found Danish procedures for choosing a GP, booking appointments, obtaining referrals, coping with waiting times, and accessing specialist care unfamiliar, reflecting that patients in Bangladesh often have more direct access to specialists and greater freedom in choosing providers. At the same time, they appreciated key features of Danish healthcare, including its organisation, digitalisation, continuity of care, and public financing. Encounters with healthcare professionals – particularly whether they felt listened to – strongly influenced their trust and satisfaction. The thesis concludes that greater familiarity with the system does not automatically lead to greater acceptance: some participants gradually adjusted, while others became more active in negotiating access or experienced declining confidence after unresolved healthcare encounters. Adaptation is therefore understood as an ongoing process shaped by the interplay between institutional arrangements, prior experiences, and concrete interactions within the healthcare system.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan bangladeshiske immigranter i Danmark oplever og navigerer adgangen til det danske sundhedsvæsen, og hvordan deres tidligere erfaringer fra sundhedsvæsenet i Bangladesh præger deres forventninger og forståelse efter migrationen. Med udgangspunkt i kvalitative, semistrukturerede interviews med fem bangladeshiske immigranter analyseres deltagernes fortællinger gennem tematisk analyse med en overvejende induktiv tilgang suppleret af abduktive elementer. Tre teoretiske perspektiver – candidacy, tidligere sundhedserfaringer og forventninger samt anerkendelse – bruges til at belyse, hvordan deltagerne forhandler deres position som berettigede brugere, fortolker forskellene mellem to sundhedssystemer og oplever at blive lyttet til og taget alvorligt. Analysen identificerer fire hovedtemaer: at lære at navigere et ukendt sundhedssystem, at forhandle adgang og formidle alvor, forventninger på tværs af de danske og bangladeshiske systemer samt oplevelsen af at blive hørt og taget seriøst. Deltagerne oplevede i begyndelsen de danske procedurer for lægevalg, tidsbestilling, henvisninger, ventetid og adgang til specialiseret behandling som uvante, hvilket hænger sammen med, at patienter i Bangladesh ofte kan gå mere direkte til speciallæger og i højere grad selv vælge behandlingssted. Samtidig fremhævede de positive sider ved det danske system, herunder organisering, digitalisering, kontinuitet i behandlingen og offentlig finansiering. Mødet med sundhedsprofessionelle – især om de følte sig taget alvorligt – havde stor betydning for deres tillid og tilfredshed. Specialet konkluderer, at øget kendskab til systemet ikke nødvendigvis fører til større accept: nogle deltagere tilpassede sig gradvist, mens andre blev mere aktive i at forhandle adgang eller mistede tillid efter uløste forløb. Tilpasning forstås derfor som en løbende proces, der formes af samspillet mellem institutionelle rammer, tidligere erfaringer og konkrete møder i sundhedsvæsenet.
[This abstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]