Ecological Model of Health in Understanding Refugee Women’s Access to Maternal Care Services in Türkiye

Abstract

This paper analyses refugee women’s experiences in accessing maternal care services in Türkiye. Using a human rights framework, it emphasizes the vulnerability of refugee women arising from their precarious legal status, social position, gender and health status which intersect in complex ways. The ecological model is employed as a methodological approach to illustrate the normative and practical complexities of interactions between maternal care, its determinants, and outcomes across three interrelated stages: the micro-level (refugees’ interactions), the meso-level (healthcare clinics and centers), and the macro-level (state policies and international agencies). Drawing on fieldwork findings, the paper concludes that while refugee women receive maternal care within the Turkish health system without overt discrimination, there are persistent challenges that hinder access to high-quality maternal care.