Mental well-being among Syrian refugee workers in Lebanon: a multidimensional approach

Displaced populations endure structural, psychological, and social vulnerabilities that impact their mental well-being. Lebanon's economic collapse, political instability, and inadequate infrastructure have exacerbated the hardships of its 1.5 million Syrian refugees. In this study, we applied the Six Dimensions of Wellness framework to explore the factors influencing the mental well-being of a sample of Syrian refugee workers in Lebanon.

We conducted a cross-sectional analysis on 89 Syrian refugee agricultural workers (42 men and 47 women) recruited from 32 greenhouse farms in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley. Participants completed structured questionnaires covering the Six Dimensions of Wellness. Mental well-being was assessed using the World Health Organization five well-being index, and scores below 13 indicated poor well-being. We used descriptive statistics and logistic regression to examine associations between wellness indicators and mental well-being.

We found that female workers, compared to male workers, reported a notably higher prevalence of poor mental well-being (40.4% vs. 23.89%). Participants who had experienced a work-related injury had nine times higher odds of poor mental well-being than those who had not (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 9.30; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.64-52.79). Social support was protective of mental well-being (aOR = 0.52; 95% CI = 0.28-0.97), while having difficulty accessing health information (aOR = 6.09; 95% CI = 1.61-23.06) and unmanageable work demands (aOR = 10.09; 95% CI = 2.47-41.31) were significantly linked to poor mental well-being. Although protective against poor well-being, results for age and education were not statistically significant.

This study highlights the complex and multidimensional nature of mental well-being among Syrian refugee agricultural workers. Work injuries, lack of access to health information, and high work demands increase the odds of poor mental well-being, while social support offers protection. Our findings inform interventions to improve mental well-being for displaced populations.