Work

292 The extra burden of care on refugee women caring for husbands living with non-communicable diseases in Uganda: an ethnographic study

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: OP 30: Refugees and Asylum Seekers 5, B308 (FCSH), September 4, 2025, 16:00 - 17:12 Background Refugees the world over have a high burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), with hypertension (HTN), diabetes mellitus (DM) and cardiovascular diseases being particularly common. Informal caregivers play a critical role in the long-term management of chronic conditions such as NCDs. Globally, the majority of informal caregivers are women, with wives or partners constituting a significant proportion. Extant evidence shows that caring for patients with chronic illnesses is burdensome for informal caregivers. Little is known about the burden of caring for chronically ill persons during prolonged periods of forced displacement. Aim This paper examines the burden of caring for individuals with NCDs in a protracted refugee situation. It is based on an ethnographic study among South Sudanese refugees residing in Nyumanzi Settlement in northern Uganda. Methods We conducted in-depth interviews with 15 refugee women caring for husbands living with HTN and/or DM and key informant interviews with community leaders and staff of the entities managing refugee affairs in Uganda. Data collection followed a community based participatory approach where South Sudanese refugees served as peer researchers. Results We found that traditional gender norms, which primarily assign the care role to females, and demands of managing HTN and DM?such as a strict diet; intersected with displacement related vulnerabilities including poverty, dependence on aid, and dispersed social support networks to exacerbate the workload, time, physical, economic, social and psychological burden of care on the women. Conclusion Caring for husbands with NCDs in a protracted refugee situation compels women to shoulder additional care work and responsibilities conventionally assigned to men to enable their ailing husbands to adhere to lifestyle and medical requirements of managing the illness. This significantly increases the demands on refugee women, thereby constituting an extra burden. Targeted interventions to support informal caregivers in situations of forced displacement are critical.

Source: European Journal of Public Health

DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckaf180.190