Evaluation of IRMO’s Health and Wellbeing Initiative

Main points

• The most frequent outcome from IRMO’s Health and Wellbeing initiative was receiving support to register with a GP.
• Translation support, particularly regarding technical and medical language was a key need of IRMO service users. By receiving support through IRMO, service users were able to overcome language barriers to register with their GP, book appointments and access NHS interpreters.
• Service users found IRMO’s knowledge of the NHS systems helpful to accessing healthcare services. Some interviewees reflected that they lacked awareness of how to navigate the NHS and wouldn’t be able to access care without IRMO’s support.
• Word of mouth and social media were the two most common avenues service users first heard of IRMO.

Objectives

This evaluation aims to explore the experiences of service users, and identify the impact (if any) of receiving the intervention. The primary research question aims to explore any effects of providing support in accessing healthcare to IRMO’s service users. Secondary research questions explored are: the effect of one-to-one tailored support; community outreach; social media outputs; of outreach initiatives; other avenues of support; and any suggestions for improvements of the intervention by service users.

Design

This is a mixed-method evaluation including a survey of 48 participants and 5 semi-structured interviews aiming to capture the perspectives of IRMO’s service users. The survey was sent on WhatsApp to service users who engaged with IRMO’s Health and Wellbeing initiative. We collected a total of 48 responses, predominantly from women (32 of 48 responses), originating from 12 different Latin American countries, and living across 10 boroughs of London. Interviews were carried out by telephone or in person at IRMO’s centre and explored the experiences and perspectives of service users to assess how the intervention was experienced by them and any perceived outcomes.

The survey was available in English and Spanish. Interview participants were offered the option for a Spanish or English interview. Data collection occurred between May and June 2023.

Conclusions and implications

Service users reported benefits from accessing the initiative. IRMO’s support provides a bridge to overcome barriers to accessing NHS care by providing holistic and culturally sensitive support for Latin American’s in their native languages.

Funders