Summary
Objective
- This cross sectional survey was conducted among Syrian refugees living in Lebanon, to monitor access to and utilization of key health services. Refugees in Lebanon are predominantly living in urban areas and informal settlements and there are no refugee camps.
Methods
10 surveyors underwent two days of training.
The survey was carried out over a period of ten days from 15th - 26th August 2016.
Survey households were selected using stratified systematic sampling, from a list of refugee households who had a listed telephone number.
The head of household, or an adult (aged 18 or over) who could respond on his or her behalf, was interviewed by telephone.
Data were entered using mobile tablets and analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2011.
Key findings
Baseline characteristics of population and sample
At the time of the survey the population of UNHCR registered Syrian refugees numbered 1,033,513 individuals in 247,736 households.
44% of the selected 685 households did not respond to the survey. Among these, 5% refused to participate in the study and the rest could not be reached.
386 households with 2,206 residents were surveyed.
On average, each household had 5.7 members.
52% of household members were female and 17% were under 5 years of age.
Knowledge about health care access and childhood vaccination
57% of respondents knew that refugees should pay between 3,000 and 5,000 LBP for consultation at a primary health care centre (PHC) compared to 75% in 2015 and 54% in 2014. A lower proportion (49%) knew that medication for acute illnesses is free at PHCs.
74% knew that UNHCR financially supports hospital care for life saving treatment compared to 77% in 2015. 86% knew that UNHCR contributes to the cost of deliveries.
71% of households knew that refugee children have free access to vaccination at MoPH facilities compared to 75% in 2015.
Self-reported vaccination coverage among children under 5 was 69% for polio and 62% for measles. However, a significant number of households reported not knowing if the child had been vaccinated (12% for polio and 11% for measles). Note that these findings do not represent a true vaccination coverage. Actual coverage data will be presented in the report of the 2016 national survey.
65% of children were reportedly vaccinated against measles at a PHC, with 21% receiving a measles vaccine through a mobile vaccination team.
The main reasons reported for not vaccinating children was long waiting time, not knowing where to go, and being unable to afford it.