Perceived Risk of COVID-19 and Anxiety in Syrian Refugees in Turkey

ABSTRACT

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.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• public health
• refugee
• anxiety
• GAD-7

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Boğaziçi Foundation, its directors, and personnel for their help in data collection and permissions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. For comparison between two groups, Mann–Whitney U test and for comparison of more groups Kruskal-Wallis Test was used.

2. Difference between university graduates and other two groups were both significant.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported that there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.