Afghan Refugee Women's Experiences of Communication Apprehension and Fear of Physician in the Iranian Health Care System, during COVID-19 Pandemic, Rafsanjan, Iran (2020)

Hashemi, Zahra; Sadeghi, Tabandeh; Amiri, Afsaneh; Ghanbari, Maryam; shokrpour, Nasrin

doi:10.52547/johe.10.3.150

Volume 10, Issue 3 (Summer 2021) J Occup Health Epidemiol 2021, 10(3): 150-157 | Back to browse issues page

‎ 10.52547/johe.10.3.150

‎ 20.1001.1.22518096.2021.10.3.7.0

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Hashemi Z, Sadeghi T, Amiri A, Ghanbari M, shokrpour N. Afghan Refugee Women's Experiences of Communication Apprehension and Fear of Physician in the Iranian Health Care System, during COVID-19 Pandemic, Rafsanjan, Iran (2020). J Occup Health Epidemiol 2021; 10 (3) :150-157
URL: http://johe.rums.ac.ir/article-1-456-en.html

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Original Article

Afghan Refugee Women's Experiences of Communication Apprehension and Fear of Physician in the Iranian Health Care System, during COVID-19 Pandemic, Rafsanjan, Iran (2020)

Zahra Hashemi¹

, Tabandeh Sadeghi²

, Afsaneh Amiri³

, Maryam Ghanbari⁴

, Nasrin Shokrpour ^*

⁵

1- PhD Candidate in English Literature, Dept. of General Subjects, School of Medicine, Head of International Relations Office, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
2- Associate Prof., Dept. of Pediatric Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery; Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
3- MA in Educational Research, International Relations Office Executive, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
4- General Physician, Payambar Azam Health Clinic, Rafsanjan, Iran.
5- Professor, English Dept, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. , shokrpourn@gmail.com

Article history

Received: 2021/08/12
Accepted: 2021/11/3
ePublished: 2021/12/1

Subject: Epidemiology

Abstract: (1546 Views)

Background: Information about the refugees' experiences in the health care system is needed to improve the quality of health care delivered. This study aimed to investigate the experiences of Communication Apprehension (CA) and Fear of Physician (FoP) in the Afghan refugee women referred to the Iranian health care clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020 in Rafsanjan, Iran.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted between March-July 2020, two hundred forty Afghan women in Rafsanjan, Iran, were selected using convenience sampling. Data collection included the demographic, Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24: score range of 24-120), and Fear of Physician (FoP: score range of 5-20) questionnaires. Data were analyzed using an Independent t-test, as well as ANOVA, Chi-square, and Fisher exact tests. The significance level was p<0.05.
Results: The mean age of the participants was 28.81 ± 7.21 years old, and their ages ranged from 16 to 60; further, 97.9% of them were married. Based on the results, the overall mean score of PRCA was 67.07±15.68. Moderate to severe communication apprehension was revealed in 199 participants (82.9%), while 235 participants (97.9%) had moderate to severe fear of physician.
Conclusion: Although many factors could contribute to CA and FoP, as the COVID pandemic had just spread and fear of this unknown virus was at its very peak during this study, the researchers assume that the high rate of CA and FoP level could be related to the COVID pandemic. It is suggested that educational workshops should be held for medical care providers to prevent further communication problems.

Keywords: Communication [MeSH], Anxiety [MeSH], Fear [MeSH], Women [MeSH], Refugees [MeSH], COVID-19 [MeSH]

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