Selected areas of immigrant integration in the Czech Republic

This article presents the results of the project: “Social determinants of health and their impact on the health of immigrants living in the Czech Republic”. During the project, quantitative data were collected in 2013 and 2014 from 994 immigrant respondents from Ukraine, Vietnam, Russia, Poland, and Slovakia living in the Czech Republic. Data interpretation relied on the theory of social determinants of health. The key areas of integration were analysed using SWOT analysis with recommendations drafted for overcoming the identified barriers to integration, not only with respect to the selected nationalities, but also with regard to common characteristics. Our research suggests that integration of the selected groups of immigrants was affected by three basic aspects, specifically: active participation in the labour market, degree of fluency in Czech language (both spoken and written), and social support as prevention of social exclusion. These aspects coincide with the current priorities of integration in the Czech Republic. The research results and the SWOT analysis served as the basis for formulating recommendations aimed at improving the immigrant integration process within the Czech Republic, i.e. increase fluency in Czech language for immigrants, matching of previously acquired qualifications with jobs in the Czech labour market, improvement of working conditions for foreign nationals, better preparedness of employment offices to deal with foreign nationals; personal assistance in cooperation with employers, effective participation of successful foreigners within the integration process, training for government agency employees in dealing with foreign nationals, and increased understanding of integration and intercultural empathy issues.