Ranking Trauma-Informed Care Needs Among Refugee Women
Keywords:
Trauma-informed care, refugee women, safety and protection, cultural sensitivity, psychological support, empowermentAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to identify, categorize, and rank the trauma-informed care needs of refugee women through a mixed-method approach integrating qualitative literature synthesis and quantitative prioritization among refugee women in Germany.
Methods and Materials: The study employed a two-phase mixed-method design. In the first phase, an extensive qualitative literature review was conducted to identify key trauma-informed care dimensions relevant to refugee women, with data analyzed inductively using NVivo 14 until theoretical saturation was achieved. Seven overarching themes were extracted, including safety and protection, psychological support, cultural and linguistic sensitivity, empowerment and agency, social support networks, access to health and social services, and training for service providers. In the second phase, a structured questionnaire based on these themes was administered to 200 refugee women residing in Germany. Participants rated the importance of each care dimension on a five-point Likert scale, and data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 with descriptive statistics and the Friedman test to determine the relative ranking of themes.
Findings: The Friedman test indicated statistically significant differences in the perceived importance of trauma-informed care dimensions (p < 0.001). Safety and protection achieved the highest mean rank (4.78), followed by psychological support and healing (4.65) and cultural and linguistic sensitivity (4.39). Empowerment and agency (4.22) and social support networks (4.10) were moderately ranked, while access to health and social services (3.98) and training and capacity building for service providers (3.85) ranked lower.
Conclusion: Findings highlight the multidimensional nature of trauma-informed care, emphasizing that safety, psychological healing, and cultural alignment are essential for effective refugee support.
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References
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