Empowering immigrant women in supporting their and their families' health and wellbeing

Programme 2014 - 2020 INTERREG V-A Finland - Estonia - Latvia - Sweden (Central Baltic)

Date of latest update: 2023-11-11

Description

Description (EN):

The aim of the WoHealth project is to create new peer support options for immigrant women, together with them, first in Finland and Sweden. We concentrate on developing pregnant and small children (under school age) immigrant mother´s peer expert support in unfamiliar culture. Another, related aim is to improve collaboration between immigrant clients and professionals in health care (children and maternity clinics). Professionals in public health care services, as well as in social work, have identified difficulties in providing understandable health communication and service information material for immigrant women. Hence there are misunderstandings e.g. in nutrition, dental care, child protection etc. issues. Improved, easily accessible, easy-to-read material can tackle these problems. Immigrant women themselves need to be asked as well, what information needs they have in health and wellbeing issues, and in evaluation of current health communication and service information material. Valuable resource in empowering new coming immigrant women is peer support: those who have lived a longer time in the country and gained knowledge and understanding in the local culture and service system. While the first two steps of the project use the same structure in both countries, the output being a training program and material consisting of the sum of the contents adapted to the differences in legislation and structure in Finland respectively Sweden, the third step uses 2 different approaches. The peer support training in Finland is directed to immigrant women willing to volunteer and give support to other women with the same needs, while in Sweden it will be the multicultural health advisors using the program and the material in the workshops. The overall objective of the project is to increase immigrants opportunity to reach satisfactory standard of health and wellbeing as a key component in their integration.

Achievements (EN):

WoHealth increased standard of health for immigrant mothers: WoHealth increased immigrant mother’s opportunity to reach satisfactory standard of health and wellbeing and thereby supported their integration in unfamiliar culture. The project developed an education model for peer support of immigrant women who are pregnant or have small children. Women who have lived in the country for a longer time and gained knowledge and understanding of the local culture and service system; were educated to volunteer as peer supporters. The aim of peer supporters is to motivate and support other immigrant women to maintain their health and well-being and to find out new ways to take care their children’s health and well-being. Peer supporter guide in easy language was developed to increase capacity of volunteers. The project supported collaboration between immigrant clients and professionals in health care, especially children and maternity clinics. Some immigrant women received peer support during their appointments in maternity and child health clinics. In total, 28 leaflets in easy language were prepared in order to improve information about health. The leaflets cover most important topics concerning motherhood, parenthood and childcare, and are available online in printable format. All materials in Finnish and Swedish: https://www.tuas.fi/en/research-and-development/projects/empowering-immigrant-women-supporting-their-and-th/

Website: http://centralbaltic.eu/

Expected Results (EN): R4.1. Communities with improvements

Expected Outputs (EN):

WoHealth project main results on activities 1 and 3 are peer support education development and piloting. - A developed and tested education model for peer support of immigrant women to be utilised elsewhere. - Educated immigrants for voluntary, peer support work (5-10 women) in teaching home Mustikka or Sateenkaari Koto . -Educated immigrants peer supporters have learned new skills to positively motivate and support immigrant women to maintain their health and well-being and to find out new ways to take care their children health and well-being. - Educated immigrants experience their volunteering peer support work to be meaningful. - Immigrant women have received peer support during their appointments in maternity and child health clinics (5-10 families). - The immigrant women who received peer support felt empowered in health care services. The main result in the activity 2 is online material development. Understandable online material in plain language about health and wellbeing issues to be widely implemented. All online material is available, along with websites of Sateenkaarikoto and FMC, for further free use of all interested organisation and other relevant stakeholders who worked and support of immigrant women and their family. Concerning the community improving the WoHealth is effective in following ways: - Educated peer supporters are active members of their own reference groups (fellow country women, local communities etc.) and deliver their new knowledge and skills in their surroundings. - Women are empowered with support and information from peer supporter and are able to work for the wellbeing and health of themselves and their families, and in the wider perspective; in their surroundings as well. - Sateenkaarikoto / teaching home Mustkka continues to educate new peer supporters for children and maternity clinics and also for other issues that need development. Sateenkaarikoto has wide local and national networks to deliver lessons learned.

Thematic information

Health and social services Social inclusion and equal opportunities Community integration and common identity

Specific Objective: More people benefiting from stronger Central Baltic communities

Thematic Objective: (10) investing in education, training and vocational training for skills and lifelong learning by developing education and training infrastructure

Investment Priority: (10 ETC) ETC specific, for cross-border cooperation: investing in education, training and vocational training for skills and lifelong learning by developing and implementing joint education, vocational training and training schemes

Partners (2)

Lead Partner: Turun ammattikorkeakoulu Oy

Department: Health and well-being

Address: Joukahaisenkatu 3, 20520 Turku, Finland

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.turkuamk.fi

Total budget: EUR 167 534.00

ERDF budget: EUR 125 650.50

Region Östergötland, Flyktingmedicinskt centrum

Name: Region Östergötland, Flyktingmedicinskt centrum

Department: Local Healthcare in western Östergötland

Address: Vrinnevisjukhuset 116, 601 82 Norrköping, Sweden

Legal status: public

Website: https://www.regionostergotland.se/Om-regionen/Verksamheter/Narsjukvarden-i-vastra-Ostergotland/Flyktingmedicinskt-centrum/

Total budget: EUR 98 299.96

ERDF budget: EUR 73 724.97

Partners map

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Empowering immigrant women in supporting their and their families' health and wellbeing

Project acronym: WoHealth

Project start date: 2019-05-01

Project end date: 2021-04-30

Project status: closed

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 265 833.96

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 199 375.47

Co-financing sources:

ERDF: Amount, EUR 199 375.47.

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2014 - 2020 INTERREG V-A Finland - Estonia - Latvia - Sweden (Central Baltic)

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2023-11-11

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

137 / 137 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

663 / 663 (100%)

Notes on the data

Information provided by the Programme. Achievements were retrieved by Interact from the Programme website (http://centralbaltic.eu/), or a website directly linked from it, on 2021-11-08, 2023-01-12 and 2024-03-08.

The financial data featured in keep.eu for this programme, it's projects and its partners is not exact and should be taken as a reference only.

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