Providers ASPIRE

Pilot location 

Turkey, Istanbul

Partners

Columbia University (CU) School of Social Work, Istanbul Aydin University, and INCITE.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS

Nabila El-Bassel (CSSW), Neeraj Kaushal (CSSW), Deniz Yükseker (IAU), Uğur Tekin (IAU)

About

Exposed directly and repeatedly to refugees’ traumatic experiences, service providers may be secondly influenced. It is increasingly recognized that there is a cost to caring, such that service providers – particularly those within health or social care settings – may suffer adverse effects to personal well-being as a result of their professions. However, limited attention has been paid to service providers who assist or support refugees in their recovery, especially in Turkey. Unidentified and untreated effects can negatively affect service providers, those they care for, and the agencies they work for. Therefore, ASPIRE is conducting a comprehensive assessment to investigate these effects more thoroughly.

Methods:

Data collection took place during Fall 2018 at 19 agencies in Istanbul. Faculty at Aydin University, led by Uğur Tekin, oversaw all data collection efforts, which were conducted by PhD students and graduates.

Topics:

The study will included 27 qualitative interviews and 104 quantitative surveys with service providers in Istanbul. Study topics include the following:

• Sociodemographic characteristics

• Work Conditions

• Secondary Trauma

• Grief

• Trauma

• Coping mechanisms

• Depression

• Anxiety disorders

• Stigma

• Access to services