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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Among Children of Kathmandu 1 Year After the 2015 Earthquake in Nepal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 August 2017

Shneha Acharya ,
Dharma Nanda Bhatta  and
Sawitri Assannangkornchai
Shneha Acharya
Affiliation:
Epidemiology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat-yai, Thailand
Dharma Nanda Bhatta
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, People’s Dental College, Tribhuwan University, Kathmandu, Nepal USAID-Support for International Health and Family Planning Organization (SIFPO 2)MSI, Kathmandu, Nepal
Sawitri Assannangkornchai*
Affiliation:
Epidemiology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat-yai, Thailand
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Prof. Sawitri Assannangkornchai, MD, PhD, Epidemiology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat-yai 90110, Thailand (e-mail: [email protected])
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Abstract

Objective

The 2015 earthquake in Nepal affected the country in terms of economy, and by causing damage and stress reactions. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and determine individual child- and family-level predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in Kathmandu district 15 months after the earthquake. Multistage cluster sampling was adopted to collect 800 earthquake-affected children aged 7-16 years and a face-to-face interview was conducted. Trauma exposure questionnaire and Child PTSD Symptoms Scale were used for assessment of the level of exposure and PTSD symptoms. Multilevel generalized linear regression analysis was used to explore individual and family-level predictors.

Results

Among the children, 51% had moderate-to-severe PTSD symptoms. Children of school age (adjusted odds ratio=2.83 [1.45-5.49]), those attending lower-secondary school (2.26 [1.21-4.21]), those having a higher exposure to the severity of the earthquake, and those with low psychosocial acuity [1.70 (1.10-2.60)] were more likely to have more severe PTSD symptoms compared with those who were adolescents and in higher-secondary school, whereas children from a family living in an urban (0.33 [0.19-0.59]) setting and following Hindu religion (0.31 [0.16-0.60]) were less likely to have PTSD symptoms compared with children from suburban areas and those following Buddhist religion.

Conclusion

PTSD symptoms were prevalent among children of Nepal more than a year following the earthquake. Family-level indicators cannot be excluded when studying children’s trauma reactions. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:486–492)

Keywords

post-traumatic stress disorder symptomschildren and familyearthquake
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , August 2018 , pp. 486 - 492
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2017 

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