Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Nursing, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Department of Health Sciences, Swedish Red Cross University, Huddinge, Sweden.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Feb 27;24(1):622. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-18089-6.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made visible the scale of health disparities in society, highlighting how the distribution of infection and deaths differs between population subgroups within countries. Asylum seekers represent a potentially vulnerable group; early in the pandemic, concerns were raised about their housing situation, usually involving overcrowded, camp-like accommodations, and the effects of COVID-19 in relation to this. Hence, this study aimed to explore asylum seekers' experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic while living at accommodation centers.
In this qualitative study, 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted with asylum seekers at two accommodation centers in Sweden. Participants represented a diverse group of asylum seekers in regard to age, educational background, and gender. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
Experiences related to COVID-19 were highly dependent on the living situation at the accommodation centers and the experience of feeling unsafe in shared spaces. This was enhanced by the experiences of a challenging mix of COVID-19 messages where different understandings of COVID-19 and related measures existed, together with a feeling of loss of control and safety in shared rooms. Additionally, participants felt more isolated from the outside society and missed prior social activities. Adding to this experience of isolation was an increasing mistrust regarding the authorities' pandemic response.
This study highlights the importance of understanding the specific challenges and vulnerabilities of asylum seekers at accommodation centers during the pandemic, shaped by their housing situation and legal status. The findings underscore the need for context-specific support, holistic disease prevention approaches, and tailored health communication strategies using diverse formats. Additionally, the findings emphasize the crucial need to identify and mobilize existing community resources in planning and implementing pandemic control measures. Furthermore, the study emphasizes governmental responsibility in providing secure housing, and to address long-term vulnerabilities beyond pandemics.
新冠疫情凸显了社会中健康不平等的规模，突显了感染和死亡在各国人口亚群之间的分布差异。寻求庇护者是一个潜在的弱势群体；在疫情早期，人们对他们的住房情况表示担忧，通常涉及拥挤的、类似营地的住所，以及这方面与新冠疫情的关系。因此，本研究旨在探讨庇护寻求者在住宿中心居住期间对新冠疫情的体验。
在这项定性研究中，对瑞典两个住宿中心的 14 名庇护寻求者进行了半结构式访谈。参与者在年龄、教育背景和性别方面代表了一个多样化的庇护寻求者群体。使用定性内容分析方法对数据进行分析。
与新冠疫情相关的体验高度依赖于住宿中心的居住情况以及在共享空间感到不安全的体验。这种情况因对新冠疫情信息的理解存在挑战而加剧，其中存在对新冠疫情及其相关措施的不同理解，以及在共享房间中感到失去控制和安全的感觉。此外，参与者感到与外部社会更加隔离，并且怀念以前的社交活动。这种孤立感的增加是对当局大流行应对措施的不信任感。
本研究强调了在大流行期间了解住宿中心庇护寻求者的具体挑战和脆弱性的重要性，这些挑战和脆弱性受其住房情况和法律地位的影响。研究结果强调了需要提供针对具体情况的支持、整体疾病预防方法以及使用多种格式制定针对庇护寻求者的量身定制的健康传播策略。此外，研究结果强调了在规划和实施大流行控制措施时必须确定和调动现有的社区资源的关键需求。此外，该研究强调了政府在提供安全住房方面的责任，并解决大流行之外的长期脆弱性问题。
