Human insecurity, chronic economic constraints and health in the occupied Palestinian territory

Abstract

Research on the effects of political conflict has focused predominantly on the association between violence exposure and psychological trauma. This paper expands that focus. We broaden the assessment of health beyond the conventional spotlight on trauma-related stress to include culturally derived measures of health, and we assess the association between a broad array of political and economic conditions and health. Household interviews were conducted in 2011 with a representative sample of 508 30-40 year olds in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt; response rate = 97%). The four dependent variables were limits on functioning due to health, feeling broken or destroyed (both culturally derived measures of health), feelings of depression and trauma-related stress. Twenty-four predictor variables assessed multiple dimensions of political conflict and background characteristics. All four measures of health and suffering were associated with human insecurity and resource adequacy. Exposure to political violence was associated only with trauma-related stress. These findings support the increasing recognition that human insecurity and chronic economic constraints in the oPt broadly threaten health, perhaps more so than direct exposure to violence. Ultimately, a political solution is required, but in the meantime, efforts to reduce insecurity and improve economic conditions may improve health and reduce suffering in the oPt.

Perspectives on Social Suffering in Interviews and Drawings of Palestinian Adults Crossing the Qalandia Checkpoint: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study

“…One of these conflicts is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has existed for most of the past century and endures with no foreseeable resolution (McNeely et al, 2014). The term Palestinians refers to “the people who lived in British Mandate Palestine before 1948, when the state of Israel was established, and their descendants.” (3, p. 837).…”

“…These have been manifested in a wide range of symptoms of anxiety and depression, including sleeplessness, uncontrollable fear, fatigue, and hopelessness (Giacaman et al, 2004), as well as health complaints including emotional and somatic scales (Abdeen et al, 2008; Giacaman et al, 2011) and PTSD symptoms (Abdeen et al, 2008). These symptoms were magnified by exposure to warlike events, such as the sounds of bombs, tear gas, shooting, and physical harm and humiliation (Giacaman et al, 2007a,c; Abdeen et al, 2008), creating feelings of being mentally exhausted, broken, and destroyed and hampering a sense of security and safety for one’s self, family, and home, (McNeely et al, 2014). …”

“…They have described the construction and the functions of the checkpoints as an economic and commercial arena (Amir, 2013; McNeely et al, 2014), the mechanisms through which violence are justified (Kotef and Amir, 2011), or the Palestinians’ political opinions toward peace processes (Longo et al, 2014). To the best of our knowledge, only one study has discussed the psychological impact of border-crossing experiences.…”

Training Women Graduates as Human Relations Counsellors and Researchers in Gaza, Palestine: “Beyond Brokenness”—A Planned Research Framework

“…These blockades have prevented the import of building materials for reconstruction; and clean water and electricity supplies are intermittent. Sewage disposal is a major problem, and in this respect access to unpolluted drinking water is a much greater problem than in the Occupied West Bank [2].…”

The Politics of Development

“…Just published findings from our continuing work on this generation of youth move this insight well beyond the anecdotal McNeely et al, 2014]. Left to define quality of life or wellbeing themselves, this cohort of now adults overwhelmingly prioritized the political domain as determinative of quality of life.…”