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Gendered Health Outcome Among Somali Refugee Youth in Displacement: A Role of Social Support and Religious Belief

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Abstract

This study examines the factors influencing physical health status, specifically focusing on the gender differences in risk and promotive factors affecting health outcomes among Somali refugee youth displaced in Nairobi, Kenya (n = 227). A survey was used to assess participants’ physical health along with psychosocial factors, somatic symptoms, and demographic characteristics. The study shows that religious belief and somatic symptoms among the total sample were significant predictors in influencing the outcome of physical health. A moderated mediation analysis and logistic regression analyses also revealed gender differences in associated factors as well as health status; female participants reported higher somatic symptoms, associated with a decline in physical health, whereas the protective effect of social support and religious belief promote was found only among male counterparts. Future studies and interventions would be benefited from a gender-specific approach to health promotion and coping mechanisms in this population.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Somali refugee community leaders and study participants in Eastleigh, Kenya. This study is indebted to Tawakal Medical Centre (TMC).

Funding

The first half of the data collection was supported by the Kenya Transitional Initiative, USAID (CHXEAS053). The other half of the study was supported by the School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University.

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  1. Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 Floyd Ave., 3rd Floor, Richmond, USA

    Hyojin Im & Nicole George

  2. Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA

    Laura E. T. Swan

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Im, H., George, N. & Swan, L.E.T. Gendered Health Outcome Among Somali Refugee Youth in Displacement: A Role of Social Support and Religious Belief. J Immigrant Minority Health 26, 341–350 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-023-01546-6

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