Public Health Reviews
Volume 37, Issue 1, 2016

Refugee trauma measurement: A review of existing checklists (Review) (Open Access)

Sigvardsdotter E.* , Malm A. , Tinghög P. , Vaez M. , Saboonchi F.
  • a Swedish Red Cross University College, Box 1059141 21 Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden
  • b Swedish Red Cross University College, Box 1059141 21 Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden, Division of Insurance Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, Swedish Red Cross Treatment Center for Persons Affected by War and Torture, Malmö, Sweden
  • c Swedish Red Cross University College, Box 1059141 21 Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden, Division of Insurance Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  • d Division of Insurance Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  • e Swedish Red Cross University College, Box 1059141 21 Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden, Division of Insurance Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract

Studies have shown that a high proportion of refugees have been subjected to potentially traumatic experiences (PTEs). PTEs, including torture, are powerful predictors of mental ill health. This paper reports a review of refugee trauma history self-report measures used in population studies. Methods: A review of existing instruments and checklists, up to September 2015, was performed. Results: The types of measures for refugee trauma history vary from semi-structured interviews and medical records to extensive multi-item trauma-checklists. The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) was the most commonly used instrument for measuring trauma history among refugee populations. Few checklists included PTEs during the flight. Conclusion: Trauma history checklists are often used as a tool to control for background variables when studying refugees' mental health and have mostly been developed in clinical or semi-clinical settings. There is a need for acceptable, reliable and valid brief checklists for measuring trauma in refugees, for the purpose of performing larger scale population studies. © 2016 The Author(s).

Author Keywords

Trauma checklist Refugee trauma Review of trauma instruments Review

Index Keywords

refugee human Self Report Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire Communal Traumatic Events Inventory Comprehensive Trauma Inventory War Trauma Scale Stressful Life Events Screening Questionnaire War Trauma Questionnaire semi structured interview Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale medical record Review Harvard Trauma Questionnaire questionnaire prevalence scoring system psychotrauma Torture
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84992170648&doi=10.1186%2fs40985-016-0024-5&partnerID=40&md5=d0701b2de21fa79d550451e45c64d360
DOI: 10.1186/s40985-016-0024-5
ISSN: 03010422
Cited by: 5
Original Language: English