August 2015
LIVH
Medical and Health Students Inform about Healthcare and Health
Ruth Gottlieb, Natalie Altun & Maja Fenander IFMSA - Sweden
In Sweden, public health is generally good, but there are substantial problems with social inequalities in health. For example in my town, Gothenburg, the life expectancy is nine years longer in the area with the highest average income than in the area with the lowest. These differences are caused by personal lifestyles and living habits, as well as more complex, economic and social conditions. A more vulnerable group is people who have immigrated to Sweden. Studies show that they have a higher mortality than people born in Sweden and they rate their own health as poorer. Since immigrants come from different cultures and countries, it can be hard for them to integrate the Swedish health care system. The idea of LIVH (which stands for Medical and Health Care Students Informs about Health Care and Health) is that medical and health care students visit Swedish classes for immigrants (called SFI) to talk about the Swedish health care system, health, common diseases, STIs and contraceptives. SFI schools contact the local contact person who assembles a team of 2-3 students for a certain date; they visit an SFI class where they try to be as interactive as possible, mixing a lecture with group
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discussions and exercises. Holding a LIVH session is truly a stimulating challenge where everyone in the room learns something new! We have a script and PowerPoint presentation, which is based on a national framework but locally adapted. At the end of the session, participants fill out an evaluation form. Out project also aims to educate future health care professionals on effective communication with our patients and advocate for their rights. This is crucial in order for us to engage in the struggle for equal access to health care after graduation, a central ambition within SCORP Sweden. Therefore, all volunteers have gone through a workshop about common diseases and STI/HIV, the Swedish health care system and how it is organized, and how to communicate over cultural and language barriers. This year, we will have our third national training for the LIVH-volunteers. So far we have had a very good response. The majority of SFI students and their teachers have been pleased with the workshop. They feel like they have a better understanding of how the Swedish health care system works, and what rights and obligations they have as patients. They also point out that they have an improved vocabulary after our sessions and therefore know how to better voice their concerns when seeking medical help. We now hope to continue to grow and contribute to a more equal health in Sweden.