A Cross-Sectional Study of Polish Immigrants in London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland

In Europe, one of the largest Polish diasporas is located in the United Kingdom, where it is estimated that over 650,000 Polish-born individuals currently reside. The continued growth of the population of Polish migrants in the United Kingdom highlights the need to keep this area of research up-to-date. Therefore, the research objectives of this studyare to examine the demographic characteristics, plans of return migration, opinion on the introduction of the euro in Poland, and access to health care services of Polish migrants living in United Kingdom. To answer these objectives, a cross-sectional survey of adult Polish immigrants and migrant workers residing in London and Edinburgh was undertaken. Overall, 119 respondents completed the questionnaire (76 from London and43 from Edinburgh). The study sample was mostly female (70%), young (63% under the age of 35 years), in a married or common-law relationship (54%), did not have children (54%) and did not have closest family in the United Kingdom (51%). They were highly educated with 55% having post-secondary degrees, living mostly in London. The respondents came from all sixteen Polish provinces with most originating from Małopolskie, Lubelskie, and Mazowieckie provinces. Over 60% of the sample moved to the United Kingdom post-Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004, with a quarter coming within the last year. The most quoted reason for moving was employment and over 90% of the sample was working with common employment sectors being retail, food services, and hospitality and tourism. 36% of the respondents were planning to return back to Poland with most planning to do so within the next fouryears, while 33% were unsure about whether they would consider moving back. Among those individuals planning a return, they stated that they would like to make an average of £17,864.71 annually in Poland. Over a third of the sample invested or was planning to invest money in Poland. Regarding the introduction of the euro, 68% was opposed to it although the majority stated that it would not impact their frequency of travels toPoland (79%) or possibility of return (55%). The Polish migrants were highly mobile with 87% traveling to Poland at least once a year, including 32% who traveled three or more times per year. The Polish migrants reported having generally good access to health care (subjectively rated as 6.7 out of 10) with 79% having a family physician, 76% being able to access emergency health services, 70% being able to get a referral toa specialist when needed, and 70% feeling that their pharmaceutical coverage was adequate. Three quarters of the respondents (76%) never or rarely felt discriminated due to their Polish background. Overall, the findings from this study may be beneficial for policy makers and agencies in the United Kingdom and Poland, which are working with Polish immigrants and migrant workers.In Europe, one of the largest Polish diasporas is located in the United Kingdom, where it is estimated that over 650,000 Polish-born individuals currently reside. The continued growth of the population of Polish migrants in the United Kingdom highlights the need to keep this area of research up-to-date. Therefore, the research objectives of this studyare to examine the demographic characteristics, plans of return migration, opinion on the introduction of the euro in Poland, and access to health care services of Polish migrants living in United Kingdom. To answer these objectives, a cross-sectional survey of adult Polish immigrants and migrant workers residing in London and Edinburgh was undertaken. Overall, 119 respondents completed the questionnaire (76 from London and43 from Edinburgh). The study sample was mostly female (70%), young (63% under the age of 35 years), in a married or common-law relationship (54%), did not have children (54%) and did not have closest family in the United Kingdom (51%). They were highly educated with 55% having post-secondary degrees, living mostly in London. The respondents came from all sixteen Polish provinces with most originating from Małopolskie, Lubelskie, and Mazowieckie provinces. Over 60% of the sample moved to the United Kingdom post-Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004, with a quarter coming within the last year. The most quoted reason for moving was employment and over 90% of the sample was working with common employment sectors being retail, food services, and hospitality and tourism. 36% of the respondents were planning to return back to Poland with most planning to do so within the next fouryears, while 33% were unsure about whether they would consider moving back. Among those individuals planning a return, they stated that they would like to make an average of £17,864.71 annually in Poland. Over a third of the sample invested or was planning to invest money in Poland. Regarding the introduction of the euro, 68% was opposed to it although the majority stated that it would not impact their frequency of travels toPoland (79%) or possibility of return (55%). The Polish migrants were highly mobile with 87% traveling to Poland at least once a year, including 32% who traveled three or more times per year. The Polish migrants reported having generally good access to health care (subjectively rated as 6.7 out of 10) with 79% having a family physician, 76% being able to access emergency health services, 70% being able to get a referral toa specialist when needed, and 70% feeling that their pharmaceutical coverage was adequate. Three quarters of the respondents (76%) never or rarely felt discriminated due to their Polish background. Overall, the findings from this study may be beneficial for policy makers and agencies in the United Kingdom and Poland, which are working with Polish immigrants and migrant workers