Abstract:
Since the Syrian war in 2011, Syrian refugees in Lebanon have continued to experience socioeconomic deprivation, resorting many families to child labour as a form of survival. Adopting a gender-sensitive analysis, this study explores the relationship between psychosocial adversities and musculoskeletal pain among male and female Syrian refugee children in Lebanon, using data from a cross-sectional survey of working Syrian refugee children between 8 and 18 years in informal tented settlements in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon. The majority of working children (4090) worked in agriculture (75.8%). Of the children who experienced musculoskeletal pain, 27.4% worked despite severe pain, three-quarters of the children worked under time pressure, over a third (37.4%) were physically abused at work, and the majority (95.8%) had a good relationship with their co-workers. Logistic regression models revealed a significant association between exposure to psychosocial stressors at work and musculoskeletal pain among male and female children. Practitioner summary: This study is the first to obtain direct testimony on musculoskeletal pain and psychosocial risk factors, among Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. Using a gender-sensitive analysis, the survey results demonstrated associations between exposure to psychosocial stressors and musculoskeletal pain among male/female Syrian refugee children enduring strenuous working conditions.
