scholarly journals Reframing political violence and mental health outcomes: outlining a research and action agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean region

2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan Pedersen

In recent decades, the number of people exposed to traumatic events has significantly increased as various forms of violence, including war and political upheaval, engulf civilian populations worldwide. In spite of widespread armed conflict, guerrilla warfare and political violence in the Latin American and Caribbean region, insufficient attention had been paid in assessing the medium and long-term psychological impact and additional burden of disease, death, and disability caused by violence and wars amongst civilian populations. Following a review of the literature, a few central questions are raised: What is the short, medium and long-term health impact of extreme and sustained forms of violence in a given population? How political violence is linked to poor mental health outcomes at the individual and collective levels? Are trauma-related disorders, universal outcomes of extreme and sustained violence? These questions lead us to reframe the analysis of political violence and mental health outcomes, and reexamine the notions of trauma, after which a research and action agenda for the region is outlined. In the concluding sections, some basic principles that may prove useful when designing psychosocial interventions in post-conflict situations are reviewed.

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. e521-e532
Author(s):  
Kimberly F. Rengel ◽  
Christina J. Hayhurst ◽  
James C. Jackson ◽  
Christina S. Boncyk ◽  
Mayur B. Patel ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 178-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.E. Lovell ◽  
R. Bruno ◽  
J. Johnston ◽  
A. Matthews ◽  
I. McGregor ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 773-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Herrera-Escobar ◽  
Michel Apoj ◽  
Christina Weed ◽  
Alyssa Fitzpatrick Harlow ◽  
Syeda Sanam Al Rafai ◽  
...  

Contraception ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 436-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vignetta E. Charles ◽  
Chelsea B. Polis ◽  
Srinivas K. Sridhara ◽  
Robert W. Blum

2021 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2021-001786
Author(s):  
Beverly P Bergman ◽  
DF Mackay ◽  
NT Fear ◽  
JP Pell

IntroductionIt has been suggested that ‘junior entry’ to the UK Armed Forces (prior to age 17.5 years) increases the risk of adverse mental health outcomes. We used data from a large cohort of veterans to examine long-term mental health outcomes in veterans by age at entry to the UK Armed Forces, compared with non-veterans.MethodsRetrospective cohort study of 78 157 veterans in Scotland, born between 1945 and 1995 and and 252 637 matched non-veterans, with up to 37 years follow-up, using Cox proportional hazard models to examine the association between veteran status and cumulative risk of major mental health disorder, stratified by birth cohort, and age at recruitment for the veterans.ResultsThe risk of mental health disorder in the veterans increased with age at entry, ranging from HR 1.12, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.18, p<0.001 for junior entrants to HR 1.37, 95% CI 1.27 to 1.80, p<0.001 for those aged 20–25 years at entry. The pattern was most marked for veterans born before 1960, and age at recruitment had little impact in recent birth cohorts. Post-traumatic stress disorder accounted for most of the observed differences. Younger age at recruitment was associated with longer service, median 7.4 years (IQR 3.0–14.7) compared with 5.6 years (IQR 2.1–11.7) for entrants aged 20–25 years.ConclusionWe found no evidence that early recruitment is associated with adverse impact on long-term mental health. Paradoxically, it was veterans who entered service at age 20–25 years who demonstrated increased risk, although this attenuated in more recent birth cohorts.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye Yoon Park ◽  
Wan Beom Park ◽  
So Hee Lee ◽  
Jeong Lan Kim ◽  
Jung Jae Lee ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The 2015 outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the Republic of Korea is a recent and representative occurrence of nationwide outbreaks of Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDs). In addition to physical symptoms, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are common following outbreaks of EID.Methods: The present study investigated the long-term mental health outcomes and related risk factors in survivors of MERS. A prospective nationwide cohort study was conducted 12 months after the MERS outbreak at multi-centers throughout Korea. PTSD and depression as the main mental health outcomes were assessed with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised Korean version (IES-R-K) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) respectively.Results: 42.9% of survivors reported PTSD (IES-R-K ≥ 25) and 27.0% reported depression (PHQ-9 ≥ 10) at 12 months post-MERS. A multivariate analysis revealed that anxiety (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 5.76; 95%CI, 1.29–25.58; P = 0.021), and a greater recognition of stigma (aOR, 11.09, 95%CI, 2.28–53.90; P = 0.003) during the MERS-affected period were independent predictors of PTSD at 12 months after the MERS outbreak. Having a family member who died from MERS predicted the development of depression (aOR, 12.08, 95%CI, 1.47–99.19; P = 0.020).Conclusion: This finding implies that psychosocial factors, particularly during the outbreak phase, influenced the mental health of patients over a long-term period. Mental health support among the infected subjects and efforts to reduce stigma may improve recovery from psychological distress in an EID outbreak.


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