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COVID-19 in the refugee and integration context - Social implications of the pandemic for the Syrian and Afghan communities as well as NGOs in the care of refugees in Vienna

Grant number: unknown

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Key facts

  • Disease

    COVID-19

  • Start & end year

    2020
    2020

  • Known Financial Commitments (USD)

    $52,677.89

  • Funder

    WWTF Austria

  • Principal Investigator

    Josef Kohlbacher, Maria Six-Hohenbalken

  • Research Location

    Austria

  • Lead Research Institution

    Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)

  • Research Priority Alignment

    N/A

  • Research Category

    Policies for public health, disease control & community resilience

  • Research Subcategory

    Approaches to public health interventions

  • Special Interest Tags

    N/A

  • Study Type

    Non-Clinical

  • Clinical Trial Details

    N/A

  • Broad Policy Alignment

    Pending

  • Age Group

    Adults (18 and older)

  • Vulnerable Population

    Internally Displaced and Migrants

  • Occupations of Interest

    Unspecified

Abstract

Refugees are among the people most at risk from COVID-19. "Social distancing" is the main strategy to avert the risk of infection. But how do refugees, for whom "social networking" is of particular relevance for many areas of integration, deal with this particular challenge? As persons entitled to asylum or subsidiary protection, on the one hand they often live in (extremely) cramped living conditions in the urban area of Vienna, on the other hand there is social networking within the groups of origin, but also with Austrian contacts (e.g. friends, mentors, German teachers, employees of NGOs) demonstrably one of the most important integration strategies. Due to previous negative experiences with state authorities before, during and after the flight, there is often a lack of trust in state structures and their transparency.