Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder is marked by increased stress and anxiety following exposure to a traumatic or stressful event. Events of conflict and war-related traumas were commonly reported situations and people who have undergone through have a higher tendency to develop PTSD, so this study aims to assess prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder and its associated factors among war-affected residents in Woldia town, North East Ethiopia, 2022. Method: A community-based cross-sectional study design was employed by using a multi-stage systematic random sampling technique from May-15 to June-15/2022. A total of 609 participants were enrolled. PTSD was measured by the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Data were entered by Epi data version 4.6.0.2 and analyzed using STATA version 14. Bivariable and Multivariable logistic regression analysis was done to identify associated factors to PTSD and P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The overall prevalence of PTSD was 56.28%. Destruction/looting of property (AOR=1.6,95%CI,1.11-2.47), murder/injury of family member (AOR=2.1,95% CI,1.37-3.22), witness of murder of family member/others (AOR=1.6,95% CI,1.01-2.71), unlawful imprisonment (AOR=1.7, 95%CI, 1.06-2.74), depression (AOR=2, 95%CI ,1.37-2.93), anxiety (AOR=3.3, 95%CI,2.26-4.97), experience trauma on themselves (AOR=2.0,95%CI,1.22-3.58), poor (AOR= 3.1,95%CI,1.60-6.04) and moderate (AOR= 3.0, 95%CI, 1.56-5.87) social support were statistically associated with PTSD at a p-value < 0.05. Conclusion: The study reveals that the prevalence of PTSD was high in Woldia town following an armed conflict between Federal Government and Tigray forces. Destruction/looting of property, murder/injury of family, witness murder of family/others, unlawful imprisonment, depression, anxiety, experience on themselves, poor and moderate social support were statistically associated with PTSD. Hence, encourage organization working on Mental health, routine patient assessment with a history of trauma, facilitating means to support affected residents is recommended.

BackgroundDepression is a serious mental health issue and the largest contributor to disability worldwide. Elderly people with depression are significantly more likely to experience negative outcomes such as poor physical health, strained social relationships, and decreased quality of life. Studies on geriatric depression are limited in developing nations like Ethiopia.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms and associated factors among older adults in Yirgalem, Southern Ethiopia, in 2022.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 628 older adults in Yirgalem town from May 15 to June 15, 2022. The study subjects were selected using a multi-stage systematic sampling technique. Data were collected using the 15-item Geriatric depression scale through face-to-face interviews. The collected data were edited, cleaned, coded, and entered into Epi data version 4.6 software and analyzed using STATA version 14. Bivariable and multivariate logistic regression analysis was computed to identify factors associated with depression, and statistical significance was declared at a 95% confidence interval with a P-value less than 0.05.ResultsA total of 620 older adults were included in the study, with a response rate of 97.8%. The prevalence of depressive symptoms among older adults was 51.77% (95% CI: 47.83–55.69). Being a woman (AOR = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.56–3141); being of more advanced age: 70–79 years old (AOR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.20–3.07), 80–89 years old (AOR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.27–3.65), 90 and older (AOR = 3.77, 95% CI: 1.95–7.79); living alone (AOR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.17–3.41); having a chronic illness (AOR = 3.24, 95% CI: 1.06–4.46); having anxiety (AOR = 3.40; 95% CI: 2.25–5.14); and having poor social support (AOR = 3.56, 95% CI: 2.09–6.04) were statistically associated with depressive symptoms at a P-value of less than 0.05.ConclusionThis study found that depression affects more than half of the elderly residents in the study area. More advanced age, being a woman, living alone, having a chronic illness, having anxiety, and having poor social support were all strongly linked to depression. There is a need to integrate counseling and psychiatric services into the community healthcare system.