Table 5.

Barriers identified within the studies, arranged within the Access dimensions

Access dimension	Barrier (citation)	Perspective of study
		Migrant/ refugee women	Migrant/ refugee men	Health professionals	Voluntary workers
DEMAND SIDE
Ability to perceive	Women unfamiliar with the concept of maternity care [17, 18]	✓			✓
	Perceived inappropriate referrals [19]	✓
	Confusion about how to navigate ‘systems of care’ [20, 21]	✓
	Previous negative experiences with health care encounters [21]	✓
Ability to seek	Stress and competing priorities [18]	✓
	Language difficulties [18–20]	✓
	Family conflicts [18]	✓
	Difficulty making appointments [19–21]	✓
Ability to reach	Transport [18, 19]	✓
	Loneliness/social isolation/lack of support [18–20]	✓
	Childcare difficulties [19]	✓
	Dependence on husband (for transport, interpretation and/or finances) [19, 23]	✓	✓	✓
Ability to pay	Unstable income or lack of suitable work or employment opportunities [18, 22]	✓	✓	✓
	Prioritising children’s education [18]	✓
Ability to engage	N/A
SUPPLY SIDE
Approachability	Lack of information and resources available for women and families [18, 23]	✓	✓	✓
	Outdated professional lists [19]	✓
Acceptability	Lack of cultural sensitivity/understanding of different cultural practices [17–19, 22, 23]	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Negative attitudes [17]				✓
Availability and accommodation	Interpreter services [18, 21, 23]	✓	✓	✓
	Waiting lists [21]	✓
	Lack of flexibility [19]	✓
	Complicated phone systems [19]	✓
Affordability	Confusion about cost of services/eligibility [21]	✓
Appropriateness	Poor communication [17]				✓
	Stress of caring role [17]				✓
	Lack of continuity [17]				✓
	Transience of refugee and asylum-seeking women [17]				✓
	Lack of information and training provided to health professionals [17]				✓
	Challenges of multi-agency practice [17]				✓
	Disagreements about patient management [20]	✓
	Short consultations or lack of continuity [23]	✓	✓	✓