The Quality of Life of Syrian Refugees who Are Residing Outside Camps in the North of Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: since the beginning of Syrian conflict at 2011, about 700.000 of Syrian refugees were registered in Jordan. In which many aspects of their lives were highly affected, which in turn affecting their quality of life as a whole. However, few studies were conducted to assess Syrian refugees’ QOL, and examine the associated factors that could improve or worsen it. This study aimed to examine QOL and its associated factors, and the access to healthcare services among Syrian refugees who are residing outside the camps in north of Jordan. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted with a convenient sample of 60 Syrian refugees who are residing outside camps in Jerash governorate. Data regarding access and barriers were collected using the general access and barriers scales, and WHOQOL-BREF scale was used to collect data on QOL. SPSS version 25 was used in data analysis. Results: refugees had higher score on overall QOL (M=81.78), in which higher scores sequentially were for physical domain (M=70.18), then psychological (M=56.39), social (M=52.50) and environmental (M=34.69) domains. However, they indicate low level of access to health services (M=18.85), and moderate to high level of barriers (M=63). Multiple hierarchical regression analysis showed that being younger and having employment were more likely to have higher scores of QOL. Conclusion: The results could be used to formulate health policies to facilitate and reinforce the Syrian refugees’ access to health services, and to develop innovative programs, and adopting some procedures to improve the QOL of Syrian refugees.