The effect of meaningful daily activity on Syrian and Iraqi refugee well-being in an urban Jordan sample

Abstract

Purpose: Being a refugee is associated with poor mental health outcomes. Pre-migration trauma includes witnessing deaths and injuries resulting from armed conflict, threats, and destruction of infrastructure, leading to significant stress. Once relocated, quality of daily life doesn’t necessarily improve much; because of their restricted access to employment and volunteering, people face stress. To explore the lack meaningful daily activity effect on the health and state of mind of Syrian and Iraqi refugees living in urban areas of Jordan, the overall mental health of refugees related to exposure to traumatizing events in their home countries, and refugee expectations effect on their mental health. Methods: In a cross sectional study, 42 Iraqi and Syrian refugees responded to the survey we designed. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyse the data. Results: All refugees were not involved in any paid jobs or volunteering activities; well-being scores were low in this study. Participants described a variety of reasons behind leaving their home countries; the most significant reason was receiving death threats, younger females had better well-being scores than others. Conclusion: We conclude more research should be done to assess the role of boredom and lack of meaningful daily activities on the health and well-being of refugees. Work arrangements for refugees are a matter of law, so finding a strong association could lead to policy-relevant change.