Quality of life of Arabic-speaking refugees in Greece. The case of Elaionas camp.

Postgraduate Thesis uoadl:2798618 325 Read counter

Unit:
ΠΜΣ Διεθνής Ιατρική - Διαχείριση Κρίσεων Υγείας
Library of the School of Health Sciences
Deposit date:
2018-09-26
Year:
2018
Author:
Poulaki Georgia
Supervisors info:
Κοντός Μιχαήλ, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Ιατρική, ΕΚΠΑ
Στεργιόπουλος Σπυρίδων, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής. Ιατρική, ΕΚΠΑ
Γεωργόπουλος Σωτήριος, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική, ΕΚΠΑ
Original Title:
Quality of life of Arabic-speaking refugees in Greece. The case of Elaionas camp.
Languages:
English
Translated title:
Quality of life of Arabic-speaking refugees in Greece. The case of Elaionas camp.
Summary:
Introduction: The global refugee crisis has affected disproportionately people in the Middle East. Eventually this situation has left stranded tens of thousands of people in Greece awaiting for asylum approvals, relocation or repatriation decisions. Conditions prevalent at the journey and at refugee camps are degenerating physical and mental health. A plethora of research in public health is using self-reported Quality of Life indicators to assess the impact of social determinants on health (SDOH). The aim of this study is to explore and assess the quality of life of Arab-speaking refugees residing in Greece in several settings, such as refugee camps and urban settings, so as to compare these results.

Methods: This project is focusing on the second largest camp in Attica- Greece, namely Elaionas, hosting approximately 1500 refugees. Data were collected with WHO’s Quality of Life (WHOQOL-Bref) questionnaire and compared to corresponding surveys using the same tool and their results, at the same population, in other settings, in order to provide a framework for interpretation and commentary on our findings.

Results: We found that average score on the WHOQOL four domains –physical, psychological, social, environment- is generally low, however, in Elaionas camp is higher than in other camps at the region, even from urban settings. In particular, refugees in Elaionas have higher scores in physical, psychological and environmental domains, as compared to a sample of refugees from Skaramagas camp and City Plaza Hotel. Social domain did not appear to have significant differences between the population living in the above settings. Score differences amongst domains, ranged from small to large, with most domains appearing a moderate impact.

Conclusion: In our quest to interpret the differences in scores, we managed to distinguish certain conditions and practices that appeared at the camp of Elaionas, which could potentially explain the differences in scores and act as a linchpin for facilitating the integration of the population. These findings could be helpful in case of policy making, as it seems that collaborative, interdisciplinary training approaches can better prepare health care professionals. Robust health care models that take into consideration population perceptions of quality of life aspects may be better equipped to address social determinants of health, and thus have more potential to reduce refugee populations’ health inequities and promoting integration.
Main subject category:
Health Sciences
Keywords:
Quality of Life, Arabic-speaking refugees, Refugee crisis, WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire, Greece, Elaionas camp
Index:
No
Number of index pages:
0
Contains images:
Yes
Number of references:
71
Number of pages:
69
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