Prevalence and determinants of post-traumatic stress disorder among road traffic accident survivors: a prospective survey at selected hospitals in southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent among road traffic accident survivors (RTA), yet the psychological welfare of the persons has largely been ignored as health care professionals focus more on managing physical injuries. Many literatures from other parts of the world have addressed the issue of posttraumatic stress disorder among road traffic accident survivors, but such studies are mostly unavailable in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study examined the prevalence and determinants of PTSD among RTA survivors attending selected hospitals in southern Ethiopia. Methods: Institution based cross-sectional study design was employed from April 1/2018-Sep 30/2019. Data were collected from a sample of consecutively selected 423 RTA survivors through an interviewer-administered technique. A pre-tested post-traumatic stress disorder Checklist-Specific version (PCL-S) tool was used to screen PTSD. Data were entered and analysed using SPSS 22 software. A logistic regression model was fitted to identify determinants of PTSD. An adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval was computed to determine the level of significance with a p-value of less than 0.05. Result: A total of 416 participants were included in the study and the response rate was 98.6%. The prevalence of probable PTSD among RTA survivors was 15.4% (64). After adjusting for the effects of potential confounding variables; time since accident (30-90 days) (AOR = 0.33; 95%CI (0.15, 0.73), history of previous road traffic accident (AOR = 2.67; 95%CI (1.23, 5.77), depressive symptoms (AOR = 2.5, 95% CI (1.10, 6.10)) and common mental disorder (AOR = 12.78, 95% CI (5.56, 29.36)) were significant determinants of PTSD. Conclusion: The prevalence of probable PTSD in the current study was high (15.4%). Time since accident, history of a previous road traffic accident, having depressive symptoms and common mental disorder were significant determinants of PTSD. RTA survivors attending adult Emergency and orthopedic clinics need to be screened for PTSD and get appropriate management.

Prior histories of posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression and their onset and course in the three months after a motor vehicle collision in the AURORA study

“…We also found that pre-MVC histories were strong predictors of the 3-month outcome. This is broadly consistent with previous research showing that histories of PTSD (Beliveau et al, 2019;Breslau et al, 2008;Kessler et al, 2018) and more general psychopathology (Bedaso et al, 2020;Heron-Delaney et al, 2013) strongly predict posttraumatic adjustment. We also found that these associations were mediated by 2-and 8-week disorders and that significant interaction existed between pre-MVC histories and the mediators due to pre-MVC histories predicting onset and persistence of these intervening disorders as well as the higher conditional prevalence of the 3-month outcome in the presence of these intervening disorders.…”

“…Although it is known that prior history of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Beliveau et al, 2019; Breslau et al, 2008; Kessler et al, 2018) and major depressive episode (MDE; Bedaso et al, 2020; Heron‐Delaney et al, 2013) both strongly predict adjustment after subsequent traumas (Ikin et al, 2010; Pozzato et al, 2020) and are highly comorbid (Kenardy et al, 2018), a better understanding of these associations is needed to inform early intervention targeting. Are these histories important because they are associated with peritraumatic symptoms that can be assessed in the immediate aftermath of a subsequent trauma?…”

Prevalence and determinants of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression among survivors of motor vehicle accidents from a hilly Indian state

“…Prevalence of PTSD in the present study was lower than studies conducted in Ethiopia,[ 17 ]22.8%; southeastern Nigeria,[ 22 ]26.7%; Australia,[ 23 ]19.3%; southern Ethiopia,[ 24 ]15.4%; and Zurich,[ 25 ]4.7%. This varied prevalence of PTSD could be explained by different time points of PTSD assessment, different sample sizes, and cultural and socioeconomic status among the study population.…”

About Six in Ten Survivors of the November 2020 Maikadra Massacre Suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Northwest Ethiopia

“…17 PTSD could result in long-term adverse consequences if left untreated, mainly it leads to social and functional impairments in survivors of conflict. 18 According to meta-analysis conducted on a global population of adult war survivors that reviewed all countries that suffered at least one war within their own territory between 1989 and 2015 found that 23.81% of adult war survivors met diagnostic criteria for PTSD. 6 A community-based cross-sectional study done in Nepal reported the prevalence of posttraumatic disorder to be 9.6%.…”