DOI: 10.5064/f62t7nyq
title: Data for: Exploring sources of insecurity for Ethiopian Oromo and Somali women who have given birth in Kakuma Refugee Camp: A qualitative study

description: &lt;p&gt;Data consists of interview excerpts utilized for the analysis of a paper submitted for publication entitled "Exploring sources of insecurity for Ethiopian Oromo and Somali women who have given birth in Kakuma Refugee Camp: A Qualitative Study."&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Project Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background:&lt;/strong&gt; According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 44,000 people are forced to flee their homes everyday due to conflict or persecution. Although refugee camps are designed to provide a safe temporary location for displaced persons, increasing evidence demonstrates that the camps themselves have become stressful and dangerous long-term places—especially for women. However, there is limited literature focused on the refugee women’s perspective on their insecurity. This qualitative study sought to better understand the ways in which women experienced insecurity at one refugee camp in Kenya.&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods and Findings:&lt;/strong&gt; Between May 2017 and June 2017, ethnographic semi-structured interviews accompanied by observations were conducted with a snowball sampling of 20 Somali (n=10) and Oromo Ethiopian (n=10) women, 18 years and older, who have had at least one pregnancy while living in Kakuma Refugee Camp. The interviews were orally translated, transcribed, entered into Dedoose software for coding, and analyzed utilizing an ethnographic approach. Four sources of insecurity became evident: Tension between refugees and the host community, intra/intercultural conflicts between the refugee community, direct abuse and/or neglect by camp staff and security, and unsafe situations in accessing healthcare both in transportation and in mistreatment in facilities. Potential limitations include nonrandom sampling, focus on a specific population, inability to record interviews and possible subtle errors in translation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Conclusion:&lt;/strong&gt;In this study, we observed women felt insecure in almost every area of the camp, with no place in the camp where the women felt safe. As it is well documented that insecure and stressful settings may have deleterious effects on health, understanding the sources of insecurity that are faced by women in refugee camps can help to guide services for health care in displaced settings. By creating a safer environment for these women in private, in public, and in the process of accessing care in refugee camps, we can improve health for them and their babies.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h3&gt;Data Generation&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sampling:&lt;/strong&gt;The population of the study was limited to Somali and Oromo women over the age of 18 with no upper age limit who had given birth at least once in Kakuma Refugee Camp. Due to both the infeasibility of collecting a random sample within the camp and the sensitivity of the topic, participants of interviews were selected through a snowball sampling approach through contacts used in previous research, including a hired mobilizer with previous experience in similar research. The mobilizer was responsible for recruiting women fitting the criteria outlined above who were willing to talk about their pregnancy experiences and stressors.&lt;p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Interviews:&lt;/strong&gt;The interviews lasted between 30-60 minutes each. They were conducted in a place of each participant’s choosing, typically their own homes, with the assistance of a translator. The interviews were all carried out by the same female researcher (AL) and the same female translator. The researcher was a trained interviewer with previous interview experience in rural settings and was enrolled in the Master of Science in Global Health Program at the University of Notre Dame during the time of study. The translator was a refugee of Oromo Ethiopian descent living in Kakuma Refugee Camp herself. Twenty interviews were conducted in total. After the initial interviews, twelve of the twenty interviews were identified that required further clarification. These twelve interviews were repeated with the corresponding interviewee to cross-verify that the relevant meaning had been captured and to expand details within the respondents’ interviews. Children were usually present during the interviews, and at times, men were also present during the interviews. The researcher asked the questions in English and the translator translated the question as close to verbatim as possible for the participant. Due to IRB constraints and in order to maintain rapport with the participants, interviews were not recorded; however, detailed and verbatim notes from the translator were taken during the interview and typed up within twenty-four hours.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Data Analysis&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Analysis: One researcher (AL) developed a codebook organically through reading over interviews and notes. Typed and de-identified interview notes were uploaded to Dedoose a qualitative analysis program, and given codes and sub-codes from the aforementioned codebook. Codes included insecurity, health, pregnancy experiences, healthcare facilities, stressors, income, coping, and support. The subcodes of insecurity include general insecurity, host community, refugee community, healthcare facilities, issues regarding security, and suggestions for improvement.&lt;/p&gt;