University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK.
J Trop Pediatr. 2012 Dec;58(6):423-8. doi: 10.1093/tropej/fms008. Epub 2012 Apr 5.
This article focuses on child health in the Palestinian refugee camp of Dheisheh in the West Bank region of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Thirty in-depth interviews were carried out with parents to determine their perceptions of their children's health. The questions related to physical, mental and social well-being, access to health facilities, factors that were likely to hinder health and measures that could be implemented to improve child health. The study was carried out prior to and during the Gaza War in December 2008 that resulted in the deaths of 1380 Palestinians including 431 children and 112 women [1]. The effects of occupation, conflict and being a refugee had a detrimental impact on perceptions of health. Interviewees revealed that their perceptions of their children's health were determined by the camp's conditions, the current economic climate, past and current political conflict and financial and social restrictions. The understanding of being healthy incorporated physical and mental health as well as social well-being. As a result, 70% of interviewees deemed that their children were not in good health. This finding accelerated to 100% after the Gaza War, showing the negative effect war has on health perceptions. Findings showed that perceptions of physical health are very much interlinked with mental well-being and parents' perceptions of their children's health, and are closely related to their state of mental health. Consequently, a clear correlation can be discerned between the ongoing occupation and its detrimental effects on mental health. Therapeutic and preventive health programmes such as child therapy and stress management that have already been implemented by the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme would be highly beneficial to both children and adults in Dheisheh refugee camp.
本文聚焦于被占领的巴勒斯坦领土西岸地区的德希耶难民营中的儿童健康问题。通过对 30 名家长进行深入访谈，以确定他们对子女健康的看法。这些问题涉及身体、心理和社会福祉、获得卫生设施的机会、可能阻碍健康的因素以及可以采取哪些措施来改善儿童健康。这项研究是在 2008 年 12 月加沙战争之前和期间进行的，这场战争导致 1380 名巴勒斯坦人死亡，其中包括 431 名儿童和 112 名妇女[1]。占领、冲突和难民身份对健康观念产生了不利影响。受访者表示，他们对子女健康的看法取决于营地的条件、当前的经济环境、过去和当前的政治冲突以及经济和社会限制。健康的概念不仅包括身体健康，还包括心理健康和社会福祉。因此，70%的受访者认为他们的孩子健康状况不佳。在加沙战争之后，这一比例加速上升到 100%，这表明战争对健康观念产生了负面影响。研究结果表明，身体健康的看法与心理健康密切相关，父母对子女健康的看法也与他们的心理健康状况密切相关。因此，人们可以清楚地看出，持续的占领及其对心理健康的不利影响之间存在着明显的关联。加沙社区心理健康方案已经实施的儿童治疗和压力管理等治疗和预防健康方案，对德希耶难民营的儿童和成年人都将非常有益。
