ArticleBMC public health2022
Social determinants and mental health needs of Palestine refugees and UNRWA responses in Gaza during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative assessment.
Article in BMC public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Understanding wellness in a context of harm: Gaza's Pandemic mental health success and the Palestine Trauma Center.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- The Health and Well-Being of Women and Girls Who Are Refugees: A Case for Action.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Review
- The bidirectional effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social determinants of health among refugees and internally displaced persons in low and lower-middle income countries: A systematic review of qualitative studies.Journal of migration and health · 2025Review
- Interventions to promote mental health in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Palestinian refugees: A scoping review.The International journal of social psychiatry · 2024Article
- Psychosocial well-being and mental health of low- and middle-income countries' internally displaced persons and refugees during COVID-19: a systematic literature review.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2024Review
- The influence of socio-demographic factors on the stage at which women's breast cancer is diagnosed and treatment prescribed in the Gaza Strip, occupied Palestinian territory.Ecancermedicalscience · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDue to pre-existing difficulties, refugees are especially susceptible to the negative effects of the pandemic; nonetheless, the pandemic's effect on this group is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Palestine refugees in Gaza by identifying the role of social determinants. During the pandemic, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) enacted a number of policies and measures. The purpose of this research was to assess their efficacy and acceptability.
methodsThis qualitative study took place between August and November 2020. Twenty-nine key-informant interviews were conducted remotely with UNRWA Headquarters, field and clinical staff in Gaza and with community members, aged ≥18 years and residing in Rafah and Jabalia camps. We sought informed consent verbally or via email. Data was coded based on the framework for social determinants of mental health.
resultsInterview results indicated that the relationship might be unidirectional, with COVID-19 causing the degradation of living conditions and vice versa, with living conditions exacerbating the COVID-19 situation by facilitating virus transmission. In other instances, the association between mental health determinants and COVID-19 might be bidirectional. In terms of experiencing violence and anxieties, women, children, and daily-paid employees were significantly more disadvantaged than other groups in the community. UNRWA modified its service delivery techniques in order to continue providing essential services. In general, UNRWA's strategies throughout the pandemic were deemed beneficial, but insufficient to meet the needs of Gazans.
conclusionThe pandemic highlights the need to go beyond disease treatment and prevention to address social determinants to improve refugees' health and reduce their susceptibility to future shocks. UNRWA has rapidly implemented telemedicine and mental telehealth services, making it imperative to assess the efficacy of these novel approaches to provide care at a distance. A long-term option may be to employ a hybrid strategy, which combines online and in-person therapy.
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