An exploration of health and illness beliefs of Ghanaian migrants

Migration to high income countries (such as the UK) has been found to be associated with declining health. The overall aim of the thesis was to advance our knowledge and understanding about migration, health beliefs and behaviours of Ghanaian migrants living in the UK. The thesis employed two approaches: a systematic review and qualitative methodology utilising interviews with a total of 62 participants. The systematic review explored associations between acculturation and body weight in migrants, examining the role of health behaviours. The two qualitative studies, which yielded two datasets, focused on the experiences of Ghanaian migrants living in the UK and also included Indian migrants and White British and Ghanaian home populations as comparative samples. Findings from the systematic review suggested that migrants may be prone to developing obesity, however factors such as socioeconomic status influences this risk. The review also showed that behaviours and beliefs relating to health may be influenced by culture. From the qualitative studies there were three themes that cut across the findings of this thesis: (i) migrant’s knowledge of their environment and how it affects healthy behaviours, (ii) the lay meaning of health, which is embedded in the migrant’s culture and (iii) social/cultural influences on engagement with healthy behaviours. This thesis provides a starting point in understanding the lay meaning of health that can affect the engagement of healthy behaviours. Different cultures have exhibited different health belief systems and knowledge of these differences is important in the design of effective interventions that will be acceptable to patients of different cultural backgrounds