Abstract
Objectives: To measure the prevalence and severity of post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) among Syrian refugees and explore its association with various factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among a convenience snowball sample of Syrian refugees residing in non-camp settings in Jordan in 2019. A 4-part self-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Part one included socio-demographic data, part 2 included an Arabic version of Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) (part I: trauma event and part IV: trauma symptoms), part 3 was related to participants’ physical symptoms, and part 4 to participants’ satisfaction with the healthcare they received. Results: Study participants (n=279; mean age 32 years (SD=10.45), 52% were males) reported high prevalence of traumatic symptoms (86.2%); of these, 68.5% were considered symptomatic for PTSD (HTQ-16 sub-scale or the entire symptom scale HTQ-45 mean item score of >2.5), regardless of the type of trauma. Those who were middle-aged, a female, unemployed, sexually abused or raped, had a family member who died in the conflict, witnessed catastrophic events like burning, or razing of residential areas, and have received the body of a family member while being prohibited from expressing grief and doing funeral rites, were more likely to be considered as a case of PTSD. Conclusion: Majority of the refugees residing in non-camp settings in Jordan suffer from PTSD. Refugees have low satisfaction with the healthcare services provided.
Article Type
Research Article
First Page
91
Last Page
105
Recommended Citation
Basheti, Iman A.; Ayasrah, Shahnaz Mohammed; and Al-Qudah, Rajaa Ali
(2023)
"Post-traumatic stress disorders among Syrian refugees residing in non-camp settings in Jordan,"
Saudi Medical Journal: Vol. 44:
Iss.
1, Article 13.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2023.44.1.20220701