Access of Syrian refugee women to reproductive health services in Türkiye during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND

Türkiye hosted more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees, including women who needed reproductive health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

AIM: To assess how the COVID-19 pandemic affected access to and use of essential reproductive health services by Syrian refugee women in Ankara, Türkiye.

METHODS

From April to December 2021, this descriptive epidemiological study collected data from 637 ever-married Syrian refugee women aged 15-49 years in 2 districts of Ankara, Türkiye. The data were collected using a structured multiple-choice questionnaire and analysed using SPSS version 23.

RESULTS

The mean age of the women was 29.6 (SD±8.4) years, with a median first-marriage age of 17 (range 12-45) years. Among them, 8.6% were illiterates and 96.7% had ever been pregnant. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 35.6% of them had been pregnant, with 78.2% livebirths and 21.8% miscarriages. Alarmingly, 12.8% gave birth at home without specialist support. Absence of antenatal care increased from 7.0% before to 41.1% after the pandemic, and missed postpartum assessment increased from 10.6% to 45.1%. Due to the fear of side effects or spousal disapproval, 26.4% never used any contraceptive. Hospitals and migrant health centres were the primary reproductive health information sources.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected access to reproductive health services for Syrian refugee women in Ankara, Türkiye. The increased rate of missed antenatal and postpartum care and number of home-based pregnancy terminations are causes for serious concern. Urgent policy adjustments and targeted interventions are needed to address these concerns.