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Article History

Received: 26 May 2025

Accepted: 16 April 2026

First Online: 21 May 2026

Ethics

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Ethics approval was obtained from the Human Participants Review committee, Office of Research Ethics, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada on April 8, 2019 (Certificate #- e2019-128).

Informed consent: Participants were recruited between March 3, 2021, and March 31, 2022, using convenience sampling with the assistance of local non-profit organizations. Research Assistants (RAs) fluent in reading, writing, and speaking Arabic, specifically the Syrian dialect, were responsible for recruiting participants and administering the survey. To adhere to social distancing recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic, participants responded to the survey questionnaire via telephone. Before starting the survey, participants were informed about the study’s purpose, the intended use of the data, and the confidentiality and anonymity of their information. They were also made aware that their participation was voluntary. Participants were required to confirm their consent prior to proceeding with the survey, and consent was obtained from all study participants. This research involved no interventions and, therefore, posed no risks to participants.