Resettled Syrian refugees in Jordan: Survival or health promotion

Abstract

Aim To assess the health promotion practices of Syrian refugees in the north of Jordan and to determine their correlation with some socio‐demographic variables. Design Cross‐sectional descriptive correlational. Methods Health‐Promotion Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP‐II) was used to measure health promotion practices of Syrian refugees. Data were collected from a convenient sample of 250 Syrian refugees who lived in the North of Jordan. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. Results The results showed that Syrian refugees in Jordan had low scores of total health promotion scale (mean = 2.28) with a cut score of 2.5, which indicated that they minimally adopted health promotion practices in general. The higher score was found on the interpersonal relation domain (mean = 2.89, SD 0.52). While the stress management domain (mean = 2.48, SD 0.43), spiritual growth domain (mean = 2.38, SD 0.39) and nutrition domain (mean = 2.34, SD 0.37) were lower than 2.5, the scores on responsibility and physical activity domains (mean = 2.20, SD 0.62), (mean = 1.35, SD 0.18) respectively, were the lowest. Women, married and unemployed, have more healthy behaviours than their counterparts.

Exploring the Mental, Social, and Lifestyle Effects of a Positive COVID-19 Infection on Syrian Refugees in Jordan: A Qualitative Study

“…Anxiety, anger, and fear among refugees are well-established given the traumatic exposure they witnessed in Syria, during the refugee journey, and while living as a refugee [37]. This adds to the burden of mental health problems among refugees and puts them at higher risk of long-term impact [37,44]. Of note, as well, is that this impact seems to be universal regardless of the settings (camp vs. host community).…”

Exploring the Mental, Social and Lifestyle Effects of COVID-19 Infection on Syrian Refugees in Jordan: A Qualitative Study

“…Social stigmatization of COVID-19 infected individuals seems to have potentially ourished with dramatic stories in media and on the internet (34)(35)(36). Worldwide, several features of Stigma toward individuals from Asian descent, those with recent travel history, and healthcare professionals have also been reported 3(37) .…”

“…This stigmatization was augmented by the lack of accurate information and the widespread misinformation related to the disease. This infodemic (2,34) became a global phenomenon that may have complicated the social acceptance of the disease and presented it as a reason for stereotyping and discrimination against those infected or who came made a contact with the infected individuals. Accordingly, it is expected that Syrian refugees being stigmatized due to COVID-19 infection seek immediate healthcare services less frequently and be discouraged from adopting health behaviors to prevent the spread of the disease.…”