Evaluation of Syrian refugees who received inpatient treatment in a tertiary pediatric hospital in Turkey between January 2016 and August 2017.

Abstract

Turkey is the leading country among those that accept Syrian refugees. This study aimed to determine the density of Syrian refugees who received inpatient treatment at Ankara Child Health and Diseases Hematology Oncology Training and Research Hospital between January 2016 and August 2017. Syrian refugees' gender, age, place of birth, duration of hospitalization, admission diagnosis and services required as an inpatient were recorded from the registration system. Admission diagnoses were grouped according to the 'International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems'. A total of 623 Syrian patients were included in this research. The median age of inpatients was 25.1 months; 58% (362/623) were male and 41% (257/623) were born in Turkey. The mean duration of hospitalization was 3 d. The highest number of admissions was observed in January. Pediatric emergency (17.7%) and pediatric surgery (12%) departments were the services with the highest number of admissions in this hospital. The most common admission reasons were found to be respiratory tract diseases, acute gastroenteritis and burns. Syrian refugees received inpatient treatment in services with different diagnoses. Preventive health measures targeting Syrian refugees may provide treatment at an earlier stage and reduce the rate of hospitalization.