Publications by authors named "Saboonchi F"

Article Synopsis
  • Social capital, particularly social participation and support, influences mental health among refugees, with a focus on how these interact for Syrian refugees in resettlement.
  • A study of 464 Syrian refugees in Sweden found that more frequent social participation correlated with lower depressive symptoms, with social support playing a mediating role primarily in bonding networks (with other Syrians).
  • Results suggest that bonding networks enhance the positive effects of social participation on mental health, leading to a larger reduction in depressive symptoms compared to cross-ethnic bridging networks.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study explores how coping strategies, specifically problem-solving and acceptance, affect the mental health of adult Syrian refugees in Sweden experiencing post-migration stress.
  • It used survey data from 1,215 refugees to analyze the relationship between post-migration stressors (like financial strain and discrimination) and mental health outcomes (anxiety/depression and well-being).
  • Results indicate that effective coping strategies can buffer the negative impact of financial strain and host-country competency strain on mental health, particularly reducing symptoms of anxiety/depression.
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Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in women in Africa and contributes to premature death and poor quality of life. This study aimed to determine the validity, reliability, and psychometric properties of the Swahili version of EORTC QLQ-BR45 among women with breast cancer in Tanzania. A cross-sectional study design with non-probability convenience sampling was employed.

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Background: The number of forcibly displaced people globally has never been higher, with refugees from Syria constituting the largest displaced population worldwide. Many studies have documented elevated levels of mental health problems in refugee populations, though prevalence estimates of common mental disorders vary considerably between studies, explained both by methodological and contextual factors.

Objective: Using questionnaire-based screening checklists to approximate the prevalence of and investigate risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression among adult refugees from Syria resettled in Norway and to compare estimates with a sister-study in Sweden.

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Background: Forced migrant populations have high rates of trauma-related ill health, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Physical activity (PA) is well-established as an effective stress reliever, while insufficient PA is associated with adverse effects on both mental and physical health. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of different levels of PA and its association with PTSD symptom severity, controlled for exposure to torture, among asylum seekers in Sweden.

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Purpose: To examine health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in refugee minors resettled in Sweden and compare results to a European reference population, while exploring associations between sociodemographic factors and HRQoL dimensions.

Methods: A cross-sectional, nation-wide study was conducted with a stratified sample of refugee minors ages 12-15 and 16-18 from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, resettled in Sweden between 2014 and 2018. HRQoL was measured using KIDSCREEN-27.

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Asylum seekers are faced with high levels of post-migratory stress due to uncertainty and uncontrollability of the application process, resulting in higher levels of mental health problems. Little is known about the coping strategies utilized by asylum seekers in this context. Structural equation modeling and the stepwise modeling approach were utilized on cross-sectional data from a cohort of asylum seekers in Sweden (N = 455) to examine whether adaptive coping in the form of problem-focused and cognitive-based coping would buffer the impact of post-migratory stressors by moderating the relationship between the stressors and well-being.

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Background: More than half a million refugees have arrived to Sweden during the last decade. The aim was to investigate differences between refugees and Swedish-born individuals regarding different specific somatic and mental disorders, and subsequent disability pension and mortality.

Methods: All refugees (n=239 742) and Swedish-born individuals (n=4 133 898), aged 19-60 years, resident in Sweden on 31st of December in 2009 were included in this population-based prospective cohort study.

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Article Synopsis
  • Many patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) face psychological distress, yet their treatment often overlooks psychosocial support.
  • The study involved adapting Coping Effectiveness Training for CHF patients, translating it into Swedish and gathering feedback from 33 out of 35 participants who completed the program.
  • Participants reported positive experiences, highlighting benefits like improved coping skills and the value of shared experiences, although opinions varied on how structured the discussions should be.
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Background: The objective of the present study was to assess nation-wide, representative prevalence estimates for symptom-defined posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) within populations of refugee minors from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq resettled in Sweden.

Methods: A nation-wide, cross-sectional, questionnaire study with a stratified sample of refugee minors, aged 16-18 years, from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, resettled in Sweden between 2014 and 2018 ( = 5071) was conducted. The response rate was 22.

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Article Synopsis
  • Asylum seekers face significant social and financial challenges that negatively impact their mental health.
  • The study analyzed data from 455 asylum seekers in Sweden to understand how social support influences the connection between hardship and mental health problems.
  • Findings show that social support can help lessen the negative effects of financial and social difficulties on mental health, highlighting the need for targeted interventions and policy support for asylum seekers.
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Aim: To translate the MISSCARE Survey into Swedish and establish its validity and reliability by evaluating its psychometric properties.

Background: Missed nursing care is defined as any aspect of required nursing care that is omitted or delayed. The consequence of missed nursing care is a threat to patient safety.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating roles of teachers' psychological job demands and resources regarding personal and collective work-identity, respectively, and exhaustion and self-determined work motivation, respectively. A total of 2,905 members of a Swedish teacher's trade union received an online questionnaire by e-mail; 768 individuals answered the questionnaire and so participated in this study. The data were obtained by self-reported measures (e.

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Purpose: In the field of forced migration and mental health research, longitudinal studies with large sample sizes and rigorous methodology are lacking. Therefore, the Resettlement in Uprooted Groups Explored (REFUGE)-study was initiated in order to enhance current knowledge on mental health, quality of life and integration among adult refugees from Syria resettled in Norway. The main aims of the study are to investigate risk and protective factors for mental ill health in a longitudinal perspective; to trace mental health trajectories and investigate important modifiers of these trajectories and to explore the association between mental health and integration in the years following resettlement.

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Purpose: This study aimed to assess the role of refugee status and specific mental disorders regarding subsequent labour market marginalisation.

Methods: Prospective cohort study of all refugees (n = 216,930) and Swedish-borns (n = 3,841,788), aged 19-60 years, and resident in Sweden in 2009. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs)  for long-term unemployment (> 180 days) and disability pension (DP) were calculated with Cox regression analyses.

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Objective: While flight experiences of refugees and asylum-seekers might differ profoundly, previous research has, to a large degree, not differentiated between these forcibly displaced groups. Furthermore, research has mainly focused on post-migratory stress measured after resettlement. The aim of this study was therefore to chart mental health disorders and the associations between mental health and early post-migratory stress among asylum-seekers.

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Background: Despite the growing recognition of the impact of post-resettlement factors on the mental health of refugees, a clear definition of the concept of post-migration stress, as well as an updated, valid instrument for assessing the construct, are still lacking. The aim of the current study was to develop and validate the Refugee Post-Migration Stress Scale (RPMS), a concise, multi-dimensional instrument for assessing post-migration stress among refugees.

Results: Based on a review of previous research and observations from a refugee trauma clinic, a preliminary 24-item instrument was developed, covering seven hypothesized domains of post-migration stress: and .

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: Refugees with prolonged and repeated experiences of trauma, often in combination with post-migration living difficulties, are subjected to severe levels of stress and stress-related ill health, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Physical activity (PA) is well-established as an effective stress reliever. However, the effect of PA and exercise has received scarce attention in the context of PTSD, and particularly in the field of refugees' health.

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Background: Future Expectation is important for motivation and wellbeing, however drastic life events such as in refugee situations may result in low expectations. This study aims to investigate the prevalence and determinants of low future expectations among Syrian refugees resettled in Sweden.

Methods: A random sample of 1215 Syrian refugees resettled in Sweden responded to questionnaire.

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Article Synopsis
  • Social participation is crucial for integrating refugees and asylum seekers into host societies and positively impacts their mental health.
  • A scoping review analyzed 64 studies and found that various dimensions of social participation, such as regulatory frameworks and community groups, are linked to better psychosocial well-being.
  • The findings emphasize the importance of policies that support social participation to enhance resilience and mitigate mental health issues in these populations.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of Syrian refugees living in Sweden and explore the impact of factors like sex, age, education, and social support on HRQoL.
  • The research involved 1,215 randomly selected Syrian refugees and utilized the EQ-5D-5L scale to assess HRQoL, revealing high rates of depression/anxiety among participants.
  • Findings indicated that factors such as being male, younger, and having social support positively correlated with better HRQoL, highlighting the need for targeted health interventions and policies to support refugees.
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Background: The aim of this study is threefold: (i) to establish the psychometric properties and gender invariance of ENRICHD Social Support Inventory (ESSI), which was used for the first time in the present study in the population of Syrian refugees resettled in Sweden; (ii) to assess whether gender moderates the associations between social support, exposure to torture and PTSD; (iii) to assess whether social support mediates the association between exposure to torture and PTSD, and whether this mediation is in turn moderated by gender.

Methods: Data from a cross-sectional and population-based study of a random sample of Syrian refugees (n = 1215) resettled in Sweden 2011-2013 was analyzed within a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) framework.

Results: Our results indicate adequate fit and gender invariance for a unidimensional model of ESSI.

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Objective: Many refugees have been subjected to pre-migratory trauma. Evidence is needed to address the heterogeneity within refugee populations in regard to patterns of multiple trauma exposures. This study identified subgroups within a refugee population displaying different profiles of multiple trauma exposures and assessed sociodemographic predictors and differences in mental health symptom severity across these classes.

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Background: The out-of-hospital mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction remains unchanged in contrast to a decrease in inhospital mortality. Interventions aiming to shorten patient delay have been largely unsuccessful. A deeper understanding is apparently needed on patients' appraisal prior to care-seeking.

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