Post-traumatic stress disorders among Syrian refugees residing in non-camp settings in Jordan

OBJECTIVES: To measure the prevalence and severity of post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) among Syrian refugees and explore its association with various factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among a convenience snowball sample of Syrian refugees residing in non-camp settings in Jordan in 2019. A 4-part self-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Part one included socio-demographic data, part 2 included an Arabic version of Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) (part I: trauma event and part IV: trauma symptoms), part 3 was related to participants’ physical symptoms, and part 4 to participants’ satisfaction with the healthcare they received. RESULTS: Study participants (n=279; mean age 32 years (SD=10.45), 52% were males) reported high prevalence of traumatic symptoms (86.2%); of these, 68.5% were considered symptomatic for PTSD (HTQ-16 sub-scale or the entire symptom scale HTQ-45 mean item score of >2.5), regardless of the type of trauma. Those who were middle-aged, a female, unemployed, sexually abused or raped, had a family member who died in the conflict, witnessed catastrophic events like burning, or razing of residential areas, and have received the body of a family member while being prohibited from expressing grief and doing funeral rites, were more likely to be considered as a case of PTSD. CONCLUSION: Majority of the refugees residing in non-camp settings in Jordan suffer from PTSD. Refugees have low satisfaction with the healthcare services provided.