İkiışık Hatice, Surmeli Aral, Sever Filiz, Maral Isil
Department of Public Health, Istanbul Medeniyet University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
Department of Executive Office, HERA Inc ., Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Soc Work Public Health. 2023 May 19;38(4):259-267. doi: 10.1080/19371918.2022.2134251. Epub 2022 Oct 15.
Pandemics are amongst the most destructive disasters to have afflicted humankind through history. These disasters entail a disproportionate effect on refugee populations, who are already in a state of high vulnerability. This study aims to assess the perception of risk of COVID-19 in the refugee populations in Turkey, in addition to evaluating anxiety levels during the pandemic. The participants of this study were refugees enrolled in a local nonprofit organization in Istanbul. They were asked to complete questionnaires which asked about COVID-19 and any self-protection measures. The questionnaire also incorporated the General Anxiety Disorder-7 screening test. In this young, male and mostly unemployed population, knowing someone who experienced COVID-19 was associated with a greater likelihood of compliance with hygiene and physical distancing measures. Anxiety levels were above 29%, and the highest scores were in the age group between 25 and 55 years. We argue that comprehensive public health measures against COVID-19 should include focused interventions for refugee populations that take the extra vulnerability (health, financial, and other) into account.
大流行是有史以来困扰人类的最具破坏性的灾难之一。这些灾难对难民群体造成了不成比例的影响，而难民群体本身就处于高度脆弱状态。本研究旨在评估土耳其难民群体对新冠病毒疾病（COVID-19）风险的认知，同时评估疫情期间的焦虑水平。本研究的参与者是伊斯坦布尔一家当地非营利组织登记在册的难民。他们被要求填写关于COVID-19及任何自我保护措施的问卷。该问卷还纳入了广泛性焦虑障碍-7筛查测试。在这个以年轻人、男性为主且大多失业的群体中，认识感染过COVID-19的人会使他们更有可能遵守卫生和保持身体距离措施。焦虑水平超过29%，得分最高的是年龄在25至55岁之间的人群。我们认为，针对COVID-19的全面公共卫生措施应包括针对难民群体的有针对性干预措施，同时考虑到他们额外的脆弱性（健康、经济及其他方面）。
