Problems after flight: understanding and comparing Syrians’ perspectives in the Middle East and Europe

Andrea Drescher; Nikolai Kiselev; Aemal Akhtar; Ceren Acarturk; Richard A. Bryant; Zeynep Ilkkursun; Roland von Känel; Kenneth E. Miller; Monique C. Pfaltz; Matthis Schick; Ulrich Schnyder; Marit Sijbrandij; Julia Spaaij; Naser Morina

doi:10.1186/s12889-021-10498-1

Problems after flight: understanding and comparing Syrians’ perspectives in the Middle East and Europe

Andrea Drescher
, Nikolai Kiselev
, Aemal Akhtar
, Ceren Acarturk
, Richard A. Bryant
, Zeynep Ilkkursun
, Roland von Känel
, Kenneth E. Miller
, Monique C. Pfaltz
, Matthis Schick
, Ulrich Schnyder
, Marit Sijbrandij
, Julia Spaaij
, Naser Morina^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Background: Syrian refugees and asylum seekers (SRAs) face multiple stressors after flight, which may vary due to different geographic, economic, cultural and socio-political contexts in the host countries. Past research has recognised the importance of participants’ own perspectives. The aims of this multi-country study were to identify and compare self-reported problems of SRAs between various settings. Methods: A semi-structured client-generated outcome measurement was used to collect data among adult SRAs in Jordan (N = 61), Turkey (N = 46) and Switzerland (N = 57) between September 2018 and November 2019. Answers were analysed following thematic analysis. Results: Over half of the participants reported practical problems with an emphasis on camp-related problems (Jordan), finances (Turkey), employment (Jordan and Switzerland) and government regulations (Switzerland), followed by psychological, and social issues. Conclusion: This study highlights the impact of local contextual factors on wellbeing. The findings emphasise that planning preventative procedures and mental health care services for SRAs need to consider local challenges affecting the population in specific countries.

Original language	English
Article number	717
Pages (from-to)	1-12
Number of pages	12
Journal	BMC Public Health
Volume	21
Early online date	13 Apr 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10498-1
Publication status	Published - 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Funding

This study was supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) [16.0205], by a National Health and Medical Research Council-European Union Grant [1142605] and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation pro Innovation programme Societal Challenges [733337]. The study funders had no role in study design; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; writing of the article; or the decision to submit the article for publication. This study was conducted on behalf of the STRENGTHS Consortium and we greatly acknowledge their contribution. We are grateful to our research assistants, the trainers of the research assistants, the interpreters, the psychology student for the support in coding, the collaborating organizations International Medical Corps in Jordan and RASASA in Turkey which facilitated access to the communities and finally, we thank all of the participants.

Funders	Funder number
National Health and Medical Research Council-European Union
European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation pro Innovation programme Societal Challenges
Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation
RASASA
STRENGTHS Consortium
National Health and Medical Research Council	1142605
Singapore Eye Research Institute	16.0205
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme	733337

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities

Keywords

Client-generated outcome measure
Mental health
Multi-country
Post-migration stressors
PSYCHLOPS
Refugees
Self-reported problems
Syrian refugees

Access to Document

10.1186/s12889-021-10498-1

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Cite this

Drescher, A., Kiselev, N., Akhtar, A., Acarturk, C., Bryant, R. A., Ilkkursun, Z., von Känel, R., Miller, K. E., Pfaltz, M. C., Schick, M., Schnyder, U., Sijbrandij, M., Spaaij, J., & Morina, N. (2021). Problems after flight: understanding and comparing Syrians’ perspectives in the Middle East and Europe. BMC Public Health, 21, 1-12. Article 717. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10498-1

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abstract = "Background: Syrian refugees and asylum seekers (SRAs) face multiple stressors after flight, which may vary due to different geographic, economic, cultural and socio-political contexts in the host countries. Past research has recognised the importance of participants{\textquoteright} own perspectives. The aims of this multi-country study were to identify and compare self-reported problems of SRAs between various settings. Methods: A semi-structured client-generated outcome measurement was used to collect data among adult SRAs in Jordan (N = 61), Turkey (N = 46) and Switzerland (N = 57) between September 2018 and November 2019. Answers were analysed following thematic analysis. Results: Over half of the participants reported practical problems with an emphasis on camp-related problems (Jordan), finances (Turkey), employment (Jordan and Switzerland) and government regulations (Switzerland), followed by psychological, and social issues. Conclusion: This study highlights the impact of local contextual factors on wellbeing. The findings emphasise that planning preventative procedures and mental health care services for SRAs need to consider local challenges affecting the population in specific countries.",

keywords = "Client-generated outcome measure, Mental health, Multi-country, Post-migration stressors, PSYCHLOPS, Refugees, Self-reported problems, Syrian refugees",

author = "Andrea Drescher and Nikolai Kiselev and Aemal Akhtar and Ceren Acarturk and Bryant, \{Richard A.\} and Zeynep Ilkkursun and \{von K{\"a}nel\}, Roland and Miller, \{Kenneth E.\} and Pfaltz, \{Monique C.\} and Matthis Schick and Ulrich Schnyder and Marit Sijbrandij and Julia Spaaij and Naser Morina",

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doi = "10.1186/s12889-021-10498-1",

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Drescher, A, Kiselev, N, Akhtar, A, Acarturk, C, Bryant, RA, Ilkkursun, Z, von Känel, R, Miller, KE, Pfaltz, MC, Schick, M, Schnyder, U, Sijbrandij, M, Spaaij, J & Morina, N 2021, 'Problems after flight: understanding and comparing Syrians’ perspectives in the Middle East and Europe', BMC Public Health, vol. 21, 717, pp. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10498-1

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AU - Drescher, Andrea

AU - Kiselev, Nikolai

AU - Akhtar, Aemal

AU - Acarturk, Ceren

AU - Bryant, Richard A.

AU - Ilkkursun, Zeynep

AU - von Känel, Roland

AU - Miller, Kenneth E.

AU - Pfaltz, Monique C.

AU - Schick, Matthis

AU - Schnyder, Ulrich

AU - Sijbrandij, Marit

AU - Spaaij, Julia

AU - Morina, Naser

PY - 2021

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N2 - Background: Syrian refugees and asylum seekers (SRAs) face multiple stressors after flight, which may vary due to different geographic, economic, cultural and socio-political contexts in the host countries. Past research has recognised the importance of participants’ own perspectives. The aims of this multi-country study were to identify and compare self-reported problems of SRAs between various settings. Methods: A semi-structured client-generated outcome measurement was used to collect data among adult SRAs in Jordan (N = 61), Turkey (N = 46) and Switzerland (N = 57) between September 2018 and November 2019. Answers were analysed following thematic analysis. Results: Over half of the participants reported practical problems with an emphasis on camp-related problems (Jordan), finances (Turkey), employment (Jordan and Switzerland) and government regulations (Switzerland), followed by psychological, and social issues. Conclusion: This study highlights the impact of local contextual factors on wellbeing. The findings emphasise that planning preventative procedures and mental health care services for SRAs need to consider local challenges affecting the population in specific countries.

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KW - Post-migration stressors

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Problems after flight: understanding and comparing Syrians’ perspectives in the Middle East and Europe

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Persistent URL (handle)

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