First-Generation Palestinian Refugees in Jordan: Experiences of Occupational Disruption From an Occupational Justice Perspective

Importance: Only a limited amount of research has investigated the impact of prolonged refugee status of Palestinian refugees who have been displaced for more than 70 yr.Objective: To explore lived experiences of Palestinian refugees in Jordan and understand their occupational disruption.Design: Thematic analysis guided by descriptive phenomenology with one-on-one and group interviews.Setting: An AlBaqa'a community-based rehabilitation center or participants' homes.Participants: First-generation Palestinian refugees who fled Palestine and live in Jordan.Results: Fifteen Palestinians, mainly widowed women in their 70s, participated in this study. Ten completed interviews, and five participated in two group interviews. Four themes emerged: specialIntscript Palestinian pride, specialIntscript trauma leaving one's home country, specialIntscript challenges of living in a host country, and specialIntscript internalized prejudice.Conclusions and Relevance: After 70 yr, prolonged refugeeism has led to occupational disruption and negative implications for occupational justice, especially in the absence of social justice. The area most negatively affected was social participation; however, participants still had a great sense of pride about their homeland and their heritage.