Today, nurses from many disciplines are expected to provide nursing care to refugees severely traumatized in war and conflict. The general aim of this study was to explore the long-term impact of torture on the mental health of war-wounded refugees. The study group consisted of 22 tortured and 22 nontortured male refugees who had been injured in war. Standardized interview schedules, exploring different background characteristics, and three instruments for assessment of mental health were used: the Hopkins Symptom Checklist, the Post Traumatic Symptom Scale and a well-being scale. The prevalence of psychiatric symptoms was high in both groups. However, there were no significant differences in mental health between the tortured and the nontortured refugees. The patterns of associations between background characteristics and mental health were different in the two groups. The strongest associations with lower level of mental health were higher education in the tortured group and unemployment in the nontortured group. Methodological difficulties in research on sequelae of prolonged traumatization remain. Further studies within the caring sciences can broaden the present understanding of the impact of torture and other war traumas. © 2003 Nordic College of Caring Sciences.

Psychiatric nursing Prolonged and multiple traumatization War-wounded refugees Mental health Torture

education rating scale unemployment educational status refugee Latin America nursing Follow-Up Studies Wounds and Injuries mental health human wellbeing psychologic assessment Refugees Asia war middle aged controlled study Combat Disorders health status multiple trauma Sweden Humans male Africa clinical article prevalence Article adult age distribution Case-Control Studies Torture