Title : From vulnerability to resilience: Roles of community support for well-being of older rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
Abstract:
The Rohingya people have been subjected to egregious human rights abuses, culminating in a mass exodus to the Cox's Bazar district of Bangladesh in 2017. This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices surrounding older persons within the Rohingya refugee community while also elucidating the present community support mechanisms crucial for their well-being, by adapting a mixed-methods approach. A printed survey questionnaire was administered to 377 Rohingya refugees residing in camps, complemented by Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) conducted with eight experts and community leaders to gain nuanced insights into the challenges and support systems. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics to determine the prevalence of specific knowledges, attitudes and practices while qualitative data from KIIs were subjected to thematic analysis in align with numerical facts, identifying recurring themes related to community support and vulnerabilities. The findings revealed that a significant majority (89.92%) of older Rohingya refugees lived within extended family structures, underscoring the importance of intergenerational co-residence, and a substantial proportion of respondents (87.23%) acknowledged and respected the wisdom and experience of elders. Family bonds, socio-cultural, and religious factors played significant roles in ensuring personal care. However, older persons faced numerous vulnerabilities related to insufficient food, unfriendly infrastructure, inadequate healthcare, poor social services, etc. This paper concludes with several recommendations particularly to strengthen community support for the well-being of older Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh.
Keywords: Aging, Community Support, Elder Care, Forced Displacement, Refugee Health, Rohingya
