Health-related quality of life among Syrian refugees resettled in Sweden

Abstract

Purpose The main purpose of this study was to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among Syrian refugees resettled in Sweden. Further, we wanted to investigate whether sex, age, education, area of residence, cohabitation and social support were associated with HRQoL in this population. Methods This is a cross-sectional study including 1215 Syrian refugees from a randomly selected sample frame resettled in Sweden between the years 2011 and 2013. HRQoL was measured by the EQ-5D-5L descriptive system, and EQ-5D-5L index values were calculated. Associations between sex, age, education, area of residence, cohabitation, social support and EQ-5D-5L were investigated using multiple linear regression analysis. Results Depression/anxiety was the most commonly (61.9%) reported EQ-5D-5L problem among the group of Syrian refugees. The mean EQ-5D-5L index value was found to be 0.754. Male sex, younger age, cohabitation and social support were found associated with a higher EQ-5D-5L index score. Conclusions Our results concerning long-lasting health problems among the study population indicate that there is a profound need for policies and interventions promoting refugees' health. Our results also show that social support, a modifiable factor, is relevant to refugees' overall health, pointing to the importance of public health interventions and policies targeting the facilitation, mobilization and enhancing of refugees' social support.

Health Care Services Utilization and Health-Related Quality of Life of Syrian Refugees with Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Germany (the Sanadak Trial)

“…To the best of our knowledge, no studies that assessed the HrQoL of Syrian populations were available. However, a study from Sweden that assessed the HrQoL of Syrian refugees found a lower HrQoL than the current study (0.75 vs. 0.82) [52]. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether the differences in HrQoL between those populations were either due to differences in PTSS severity, migration as a potential determinant of HrQoL or intercultural differences in the perception of the own health and HrQoL.…”

Living a Healthy Life in Australia: Exploring Influences on Health for Refugees from Myanmar

“…Our study looked at the inter-relationships between health, social connections, work and education. The complex nature of health and relationship with non-biomedical factors as highlighted in previous literature [11][12][13][21][22][23][24][25] was demonstrated in our research, and further supported the SEM, which challenges researchers and practitioners alike to think broadly about all influencers of health including social and environmental factors [29]. However, those currently implementing changes to improve the health and wellbeing of refugees are healthcare or social support service providers.…”

“…People from refugee backgrounds have poorer health outcomes than those from non-refugee backgrounds [6][7][8][9][11][12][13]. Lack of access to health services in their new home country [10,14,15] presents an additional challenge that is influenced by language barriers, lack of transport, and unfamiliar health service systems [2,[16][17][18][19][20].…”

Exploring how Syrian women manage their health after migration to Germany: results of a qualitative study

“…Despite a general lack of knowledge regarding the health status among Syrian immigrants in high-income countries in Europe in their post-resettlement phase, insights could be gained from a recent study on the health-related quality of life among Syrian refugees resettled in Sweden. Mental health problems constituted the most common health problems among this group, whereby women had an increased risk of experiencing physical and mental problems compared to men [ 11 ].…”