Research project on Ukrainian refugees receives funding from the Carlsberg Foundation
A research project on the mental health of Ukrainian refugees supported by the Crown Princess Mary Center has received additional funding for data collection. The goal is to improve conditions for Ukrainian refugees living in Denmark.
Many Ukrainian refugees living in Denmark are mentally effected by the intense, traumatic experiences of fleeing Ukraine. Some of them report suffering from severe trauma that require treatment.
At the same time, though, the majority of Ukrainian refugees living in Denmark are able and willing to get a job and contribute to society – despite the language barrier and the fact that the jobs available to them rarely match their qualifications.
This is the conclusion of a sample survey conducted among 500 Ukrainian refugees in a pilot project hosted by the Faculty of Social Sciences and headed by Associate Professor Karen-Inge Karstoft. The Crown Princess Mary Center invested in the project in 2022, and the results of the survey which received almost 100 answers are so promising that the Carlsberg Foundation has agreed to grant DKK 1,285,000 to the project, which shall go to the collection for more data.
The aim is to collect data from all adult Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in Denmark after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and to follow them over a period of time. This will provide important knowledge on the mental health of refugees – knowledge which is more or less non-existent today.
The fact that many Ukrainian refugees wish to stay in Denmark came as a surprise to the researchers behind the survey, Project Manager Sofie Valentin Weiskopf says:
“Two thirds of those surveyed have found employment and wish to make a life for themselves and their children in Denmark. Furthermore, we have learned that most of those who wish to remain in Denmark have lost family and friends in the war, while those who have not prefer to return home as soon as possible.”
Funding from the Crown Princess Mary Center
In April 2022, researchers at the humanities, law, theology and social sciences faculties were invited to apply for funding for small-scale projects. The Center focussed on the projects’ topicality and social relevance. The Ukraine project was the first to receive instant funding.
Funding from the Crown Princess Mary Center enabled the researchers to invite 500 Ukrainian refugees to participate in a survey via eBoks. Even though the funding was limited, it has according to Sofie Valentin Weiskopf rendered the project possible:
“Without this funding we would neither have been able to document the relevance of the project and prove that data can be collected via eBoks nor attract more funding to the project.”
The aim of the project is to describe the potentially traumatic experiences of Ukrainian refugees, their meeting with the Danish society and how this affects their mental health and life in Denmark. This knowledge will enable us to identify measures that can help improve the well-being of Ukrainian refugees.
Read more about start and instant funding from the Crown Princess Mary Center