In the context of the Erasmus+ project InterHealth has been designed the IHApp, targeted to healthcare professionals dealing with migrants.
The current migration phenomenon in Europe creates a great need for provision of culturally sensitive health care and challenges professionals to take into consideration individuals’ attributions of illness, illness’ calling, causes attributed, coping mechanisms applied and concerns which are linked with patient’s illness beliefs. People have different “illness beliefs systems” or a “relatively coherent set of ideas regarding what causes illness and its course and treatment” (Chrisman, 1991).
The inability to recognize and deal with perspectives of illness that deviate from those of the biomedically trained healthcare professional can paralyze attempts at identifying problems and developing plans for solving them.
The InterHealth Application is based on a theoretical background integrating the evolutions of the Chrisman theory regarding illness beliefs as well as the model of emotional and psychological states influence on the etiology and maintenance of illness. The awareness of existent different beliefs and understanding of their impact on the different phases of disease prevention and management will help healthcare professionals to acquire an empathetic and open attitude with positive results on patients’ outcomes.
If you are an Health Care Professional we would love to have your feedback!
Try the IHApp HERE and fill the evaluation HERE.
For more information about the InterHealth project, please visit the website: www.interhealth.eu