A descriptive analysis of sexual and reproductive health services for refugees provided through minimum initial service package approach


Özvarış Ş. B., Kaptanoğlu İ. Y., Erdost T., Ünlü H. K.

Türkiye Halk Sağlığı Dergisi, cilt.22, sa.2, ss.136-148, 2024 (Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 22 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.20518/tjph.1407485
  • Dergi Adı: Türkiye Halk Sağlığı Dergisi
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.136-148
  • Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Objective: Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a priority public health emergency response for women during humanitarian crisis situations as they face the risk of being neglected in health care systems of the country of arrival. This study aimed to investigate Syrian women’s utilization of SRH services through Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) approach, who received services from Women Health Counseling Units (WHCU) established as part of a collaborative Project in Türkiye. Methods: Questionnaires were administered face-to-face by Arabic-speaking female interviewers to 413 Syrian women who previously received services from the WHCU. Descriptive statistics were used and Pearson chi-square as well as Exact chi-square tests were conducted to analyse bivariate differences between categorical variables. Results: Child marriages were common among more than half (59%) of the participants. Majority of deliveries took place in the public hospitals (95%) and as attended by a doctor (93%). The percentage of participants using modern contraceptive methods was found to be 39.7% who were more frequently from younger age groups. However, the withdrawal method was relatively more prevalent among older participants. Conclusion: Despite the data being gathered from a limited population of Syrian women in Türkiye, the study offers descriptive, evidence-based insights on improving women’s access to high-quality SRH services in line with the MISP approach during humanitarian crisis situations.