Frontiers in Psychiatry
Volume 9, Issue NOV, 2018

Psychological burden in female, iraqi refugees who suffered extreme violence by the "islamic state": The perspective of care providers (Article) (Open Access)

El Sount C.R.-O.* , Denkinger J.K. , Windthorst P. , Nikendei C. , Kindermann D. , Renner V. , Ringwald J. , Brucker S. , Tran V.M. , Zipfel S. , Junne F.
  • a Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
  • b Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
  • c Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
  • d Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
  • e Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
  • f Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy for Children and Youth, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
  • g Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
  • h Department of Gynecology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tubingen, Germany
  • i Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, United States
  • j Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
  • k Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

Abstract

Introduction: A large number of refugees suffer from mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the context of a special quota project, 1100 Yazidi women from Northern Iraq who had suffered extreme violence by the so-called Islamic State (IS) were brought to Germany to receive specialized treatment. This study aims to investigate the psychological burden and trauma-related symptoms of these female IS-victims from the perspectives of their care providers. Material and methods: Care providers with various professional backgrounds (N = 96) were asked to complete a self-developed questionnaire on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (very low) to 7 (very high) analyzing the psychological burden and trauma-related symptoms of the IS-traumatized women since their arrival in Germany. We controlled for potential confounders, namely the care providers' personal experiences of trauma and flight, by using chi-square tests. Results: The mean psychological burden for the whole period in Germany as perceived by care providers was M = 5.51 (SD = 0.94). As the main factors of distress the care providers reported: worries about family members in Iraq (M = 6.69; SD = 0.69), worries about relatives' possibilities to be granted asylum in Germany (M = 6.62; SD = 0.68), and uncertainties regarding their future (M = 5.89; SD = 1.02). The most prominent trauma-related psychological symptoms were nightmares (M = 6.43; SD = 0.54). The care providers reported that somatic complaints have been present among the refugees in the following manifestation: pain (M = 6.24; SD = 1.08), gastrointestinal complaints (M = 4.62; SD = 1.62), and dizziness (M = 4.40; SD = 1.59). The care providers' personal experiences of trauma and flight had no significant influence on their response behavior. Discussion: Care providers working with IS-traumatized female refugees evaluate the psychological burden and trauma-related somatic and psychological symptom loads of their clients as very high. The results of this study provide important information about the perceptions of care providers working in a refugee-services context and may provide insights for the progression of specialized treatment programs and interventions for highly traumatized refugees and culture-sensitive training programs for their care providers. Copyright © 2018 Rometsch-Ogioun El Sount, Denkinger.

Author Keywords

pain Somatic symptoms Psychological burden Care providers Refugees PTSD Yazidi trauma

Index Keywords

personal experience nightmare perception depression refugee Iraqi human pain Aged social worker dizziness health personnel attitude insomnia cross-sectional study psychological burden confusion (uncertainty) male female Article gastrointestinal symptom adult distress syndrome patient attitude psychosomatic disorder psychotrauma disease burden patient worry gender based violence
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85056266913&doi=10.3389%2ffpsyt.2018.00562&partnerID=40&md5=9b4ad1bcb25b353d624737d97cf6699f
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00562
ISSN: 16640640
Original Language: English