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      Professional and Volunteer Refugee Aid Workers–Depressive Symptoms and Their Predictors, Experienced Traumatic Events, PTSD, Burdens, Engagement Motivators and Support Needs

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          Abstract

          In 2016, the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy of the University Hospital of Erlangen started conducting training for professional and voluntary aid workers. In total, 149 aid workers took part in the training courses, of which 135 completed the corresponding questionnaires. Engagement motivators, perceived distress in refugee work and training needs were examined. Moreover, depressive symptoms, the prevalence of traumatic experiences and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder were explored. Participants named helping others as the highest motivating factor for their work with refugees and communication problems as the main burden. Thirteen aid workers (10.1%) showed clinically relevant depressive symptoms. In total, 91.4% of refugee aid workers had experienced at least one traumatic event personally or as a witness but only three (3.6%) fulfilled the psychometric requirements of a PTSD diagnosis. These three participants all belonged to the professional aid workers (6.3%). More severe symptoms of depression were significantly associated with female gender (β = 0.315, p = 0.001), higher perceived burdens of refugee work (β = 0.294, p = 0.002), and a larger number of experienced traumatic events (β = 0.357, p < 0.001). According to our results, we recommend psychological trainings and regular screenings for psychological stress in order to counteract possible mental illnesses.

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          Post-traumatic stress disorder among Syrian refugees in Turkey: a cross-sectional study.

          Refugees have had major challenges to meet their health care needs throughout history especially in war zones and natural disaster times. The health care needs of Syrian refugees have been becoming an increasingly important issue. We aimed to examine the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and explore its relation with various socioeconomic variables among Syrian refugees, who sought asylum in Turkey.
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            Social work, stress and burnout: A review

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              Prevalence of Mental Distress Among Syrian Refugees With Residence Permission in Germany: A Registry-Based Study

              Background: High rates of prevalence of mental distress among the Syrian refugee population have been repeatedly confirmed. However, little is known about the influence of length of stay, living conditions, and residence permission in the host country or about the duration of the escape journey and travel conditions on mental health in this refugee population. This study examines the mental health of Syrian refugees, taking into account the circumstances in their country of origin and host country, as well as their escape conditions. Methods: This investigation formed part of a registry-based study. A sample of 518 adult Syrian refugees in Erlangen, Germany, who have residence permission was identified. The response rate was 38.6%; a total of 200 Syrian refugees thus participated in the study. The respondents were investigated for post-traumatic stress disorder (ETI), depression (PHQ-9), generalized anxiety (GAD-7) and post-migration variables. Results: The prevalence of participants who had personally experienced and/or witnessed traumatic events was 75.3%. Symptoms of PTSD were found in 11.4% of the participants. Moderate to severe depression was confirmed in 14.5% and moderate to severe generalized anxiety in 13.5% of the sample. The criteria for at least one diagnosis were met by 30.5% of the participants. More severe PTSD symptoms were associated with older age, shorter validity of the residence permit, larger number of traumatic events (TEs) and higher generalized anxiety symptoms. Depression symptoms were associated with younger age, shorter duration of escape journey, larger number of TEs and higher generalized anxiety symptoms. Generalized anxiety symptoms correlated with female gender, PTSD, and depression symptoms. Conclusions: These findings suggest that Syrian refugees in Germany are a vulnerable population, especially if they have experienced and/or witnessed multiple traumatic events. However, post-migration conditions and positive future prospects in the host country can be protective factors for this population.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Int J Environ Res Public Health
                Int J Environ Res Public Health
                ijerph
                International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
                MDPI
                1661-7827
                1660-4601
                17 November 2019
                November 2019
                : 16
                : 22
                : 4542
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; andrea.borho@ 123456uk-erlangen.de (A.B.); ekaterini.georgiadou@ 123456klinikum-nuernberg.de (E.G.); grimm_theresa@ 123456web.de (T.G.); eva.morawa@ 123456uk-erlangen.de (E.M.); andrea.silbermann@ 123456uk-erlangen.de (A.S.); winfried.nisslbeck@ 123456uk-erlangen.de (W.N.)
                [2 ]Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Paracelsus Medical University Nürnberg, Prof.-Ernst-Nathan-Str. 1, 90419 Nürnberg, Germany
                Author notes
                [* ]Correspondence: yesim.erim@ 123456uk-erlangen.de ; Tel.: +49-9131-85-35928
                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4978-6158
                Article
                ijerph-16-04542
                10.3390/ijerph16224542
                6887937
                31744176
                22bae566-3769-4f4a-a234-458360d7673b
                © 2019 by the authors.

                Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

                History
                : 20 September 2019
                : 09 November 2019
                Categories
                Article

                Public health
                germany,refugee aid workers,depression,traumatic experiences,ptsd,burdens,engagement motivators,support needs,trainings

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