Jutta Lindert1,2, Ulrike Neuendorf3, Marta Natan3, Ingo Schäfer4. 1. Center for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research (ZIS), University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany. Jutta.Lindert@hs-emden-leer.de. 2. Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. Jutta.Lindert@hs-emden-leer.de. 3. Center for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research (ZIS), University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany. 4. University Hospital Hamburg / Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Syrians have been the largest group of refugees in Germany since 2014. Little is known about Syrian refugees` perspectives on substance use. The aim of this study is to investigate the perspective of male refugees from Syria and to foster specific knowledge and understanding of substance use. METHODS: We applied a qualitative study design. Five semi-structured focus group discussions with a total of 19 refugees were conducted in 2019 among the difficult to reach population of Syrian refugees. Audio recordings were translated and transcribed. We used a hybrid approach by integrating inductive and deductive thematic frameworks. RESULTS: We identified common themes. Firstly, refugees perceived that substances are widely available and accepted in Germany. Secondly, refugees perceived that rules and norms in Germany differ from rules and norms in the home country and favor availability of substances. Thirdly, substance use is related to the intention to escape the past. Fourthly, substance use is related to living in the present through connecting with others and being part of the community. Finally, mental health professional treatment for substance use is associated with shame. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support Syrian refugees` perspectives of substance use as a way of both escaping the past and coping with psychosocial difficulties in the present in a socio-ecological understanding. Understanding the explanatory model of Syrian refugees can inform future interventions to prevent substance abuse and design tailored interventions. Further studies with Syrian refugees in more countries are needed to better understand resettled refugees` perspectives on substance use.
BACKGROUND: Syrians have been the largest group of refugees in Germany since 2014. Little is known about Syrian refugees` perspectives on substance use. The aim of this study is to investigate the perspective of male refugees from Syria and to foster specific knowledge and understanding of substance use. METHODS: We applied a qualitative study design. Five semi-structured focus group discussions with a total of 19 refugees were conducted in 2019 among the difficult to reach population of Syrian refugees. Audio recordings were translated and transcribed. We used a hybrid approach by integrating inductive and deductive thematic frameworks. RESULTS: We identified common themes. Firstly, refugees perceived that substances are widely available and accepted in Germany. Secondly, refugees perceived that rules and norms in Germany differ from rules and norms in the home country and favor availability of substances. Thirdly, substance use is related to the intention to escape the past. Fourthly, substance use is related to living in the present through connecting with others and being part of the community. Finally, mental health professional treatment for substance use is associated with shame. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support Syrian refugees` perspectives of substance use as a way of both escaping the past and coping with psychosocial difficulties in the present in a socio-ecological understanding. Understanding the explanatory model of Syrian refugees can inform future interventions to prevent substance abuse and design tailored interventions. Further studies with Syrian refugees in more countries are needed to better understand resettled refugees` perspectives on substance use.
Authors: Kevin Shield; Jakob Manthey; Margaret Rylett; Charlotte Probst; Ashley Wettlaufer; Charles D H Parry; Jürgen Rehm Journal: Lancet Public Health Date: 2020-01
Authors: Stephen S Lim; Theo Vos; Abraham D Flaxman; Goodarz Danaei; Kenji Shibuya; Heather Adair-Rohani; Markus Amann; H Ross Anderson; Kathryn G Andrews; Martin Aryee; Charles Atkinson; Loraine J Bacchus; Adil N Bahalim; Kalpana Balakrishnan; John Balmes; Suzanne Barker-Collo; Amanda Baxter; Michelle L Bell; Jed D Blore; Fiona Blyth; Carissa Bonner; Guilherme Borges; Rupert Bourne; Michel Boussinesq; Michael Brauer; Peter Brooks; Nigel G Bruce; Bert Brunekreef; Claire Bryan-Hancock; Chiara Bucello; Rachelle Buchbinder; Fiona Bull; Richard T Burnett; Tim E Byers; Bianca Calabria; Jonathan Carapetis; Emily Carnahan; Zoe Chafe; Fiona Charlson; Honglei Chen; Jian Shen Chen; Andrew Tai-Ann Cheng; Jennifer Christine Child; Aaron Cohen; K Ellicott Colson; Benjamin C Cowie; Sarah Darby; Susan Darling; Adrian Davis; Louisa Degenhardt; Frank Dentener; Don C Des Jarlais; Karen Devries; Mukesh Dherani; Eric L Ding; E Ray Dorsey; Tim Driscoll; Karen Edmond; Suad Eltahir Ali; Rebecca E Engell; Patricia J Erwin; Saman Fahimi; Gail Falder; Farshad Farzadfar; Alize Ferrari; Mariel M Finucane; Seth Flaxman; Francis Gerry R Fowkes; Greg Freedman; Michael K Freeman; Emmanuela Gakidou; Santu Ghosh; Edward Giovannucci; Gerhard Gmel; Kathryn Graham; Rebecca Grainger; Bridget Grant; David Gunnell; Hialy R Gutierrez; Wayne Hall; Hans W Hoek; Anthony Hogan; H Dean Hosgood; Damian Hoy; Howard Hu; Bryan J Hubbell; Sally J Hutchings; Sydney E Ibeanusi; Gemma L Jacklyn; Rashmi Jasrasaria; Jost B Jonas; Haidong Kan; John A Kanis; Nicholas Kassebaum; Norito Kawakami; Young-Ho Khang; Shahab Khatibzadeh; Jon-Paul Khoo; Cindy Kok; Francine Laden; Ratilal Lalloo; Qing Lan; Tim Lathlean; Janet L Leasher; James Leigh; Yang Li; John Kent Lin; Steven E Lipshultz; Stephanie London; Rafael Lozano; Yuan Lu; Joelle Mak; Reza Malekzadeh; Leslie Mallinger; Wagner Marcenes; Lyn March; Robin Marks; Randall Martin; Paul McGale; John McGrath; Sumi Mehta; George A Mensah; Tony R Merriman; Renata Micha; Catherine Michaud; Vinod Mishra; Khayriyyah Mohd Hanafiah; Ali A Mokdad; Lidia Morawska; Dariush Mozaffarian; Tasha Murphy; Mohsen Naghavi; Bruce Neal; Paul K Nelson; Joan Miquel Nolla; Rosana Norman; Casey Olives; Saad B Omer; Jessica Orchard; Richard Osborne; Bart Ostro; Andrew Page; Kiran D Pandey; Charles D H Parry; Erin Passmore; Jayadeep Patra; Neil Pearce; Pamela M Pelizzari; Max Petzold; Michael R Phillips; Dan Pope; C Arden Pope; John Powles; Mayuree Rao; Homie Razavi; Eva A Rehfuess; Jürgen T Rehm; Beate Ritz; Frederick P Rivara; Thomas Roberts; Carolyn Robinson; Jose A Rodriguez-Portales; Isabelle Romieu; Robin Room; Lisa C Rosenfeld; Ananya Roy; Lesley Rushton; Joshua A Salomon; Uchechukwu Sampson; Lidia Sanchez-Riera; Ella Sanman; Amir Sapkota; Soraya Seedat; Peilin Shi; Kevin Shield; Rupak Shivakoti; Gitanjali M Singh; David A Sleet; Emma Smith; Kirk R Smith; Nicolas J C Stapelberg; Kyle Steenland; Heidi Stöckl; Lars Jacob Stovner; Kurt Straif; Lahn Straney; George D Thurston; Jimmy H Tran; Rita Van Dingenen; Aaron van Donkelaar; J Lennert Veerman; Lakshmi Vijayakumar; Robert Weintraub; Myrna M Weissman; Richard A White; Harvey Whiteford; Steven T Wiersma; James D Wilkinson; Hywel C Williams; Warwick Williams; Nicholas Wilson; Anthony D Woolf; Paul Yip; Jan M Zielinski; Alan D Lopez; Christopher J L Murray; Majid Ezzati; Mohammad A AlMazroa; Ziad A Memish Journal: Lancet Date: 2012-12-15 Impact factor: 79.321
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