Reproductive health care utilization among refugees in Jordan: Provisional support and domestic violence

Conflict and displacement are associated with poverty, disruption of services, loss of identity, reduced care for reproductive needs, and reduced provision of health care, among other things. This article uses the framework outlined by Obermeyer and Potter to test how refugee and native status influence utilization of reproductive health services and experience with domestic violence in a context of high refugee inhabitants and strong refugee-focused non-governmental organization presence. This article addresses the following: (1) coverage, source, and method of contraceptives; (2) variation in reproductive health experience by source of contraception; and finally, (3) factors determining variation in the utilization of reproductive health services and domestic violence experiences for individuals living in and out of refugee camps.

The data is the 2012 Jordan Demographic and Health Survey, and the method utilized is logistic regression.

Findings suggest that refugee women serviced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency have greater access to health-related resources (family planning and contraception), but they have weaker positions in the family as evidenced by domestic violence experiences.

It is plausible that provisional resources are the easiest for an aid organization to provide, while the complications of identity loss and the loss of a sense of space pose a challenge for refugees and aid organizations.