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Health-Related Quality of Life Among Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Greece

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Abstract

We aimed at assessing the health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) of refugees and asylum seekers in Northern Greece. The SF-36 Health Survey was used to assess participants’ HRQoL. Participants were contacted in person. Correlation and dependence tests were employed to examine the association of participants’ demographic, residence-related and medical-related characteristics with the two SF-36 component (physical-PCS/mental-MCS) scales. Regressions were conducted to investigate the effect of these characteristics on component scales. Refugees and asylum seekers (n = 161) living in urban apartments and camps in Northern Greece participated in the study reporting poor HRQoL (PCS = 43.9, MCS = 39.5). Age, gender, duration of stay, benefits offered by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), type of accommodation, suffering from a serious health problem and receipt of medication were associated with HRQoL. This study constitutes the first research assessing HRQoL of refugees and asylum seekers in Northern Greece.

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Authors received no funding for this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration, University of Macedonia, 156 Egnatia Str, 546 36, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Sofia Beza, Afentoula G. Mavrodi, Gima Kyratso & Vassilis H. Aletras

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  1. Sofia Beza
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  2. Afentoula G. Mavrodi
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  3. Gima Kyratso
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  4. Vassilis H. Aletras
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Afentoula G. Mavrodi.

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All authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Ethical Approval

Study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Office of Regional Coordination of Accommodation Facilities in Northern Greece and Epirus, operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Interior.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study and all data gathered during questionnaires were anonymous.

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Beza, S., Mavrodi, A.G., Kyratso, G. et al. Health-Related Quality of Life Among Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Greece. J Immigrant Minority Health 24, 437–444 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-021-01199-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-021-01199-3

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