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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
William G Fernandez, MD1, Sandro Galea, MD, MPH2, Jennifer Ahern, MPH2, Bajram Koci, MD3, David Vlahov, PhD2, and Ronald Waldman, MD4. (1) Division of Emergency Medicine, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, 600 West 168th Street, New York City, NY 10032, 212.280.5244, billmanfernandez@hotmail.com, (2) Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10029, (3) Department of Emergency Care, University of Pristina Medical Center, University of Pristina, c/o Columbia-Presbyterian Division of Emergency Medicine, New York, NY 10032, (4) Joseph LMailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, Columbia University, 600 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032
BACKGROUND Two years after the 1998-1999 war, Kosovo is emerging from a complex humanitarian emergency. We were interested in assessing the prevalence and correlates of the mental health status of Kosovo Albanians in the post-war period. METHODS The Kosovo Emergency Department (ED) Study was conducted between July 30th 2001 and August 30th 2001 in the ED of the University of Pristina Medical Center. Investigators collected data on every sixth non-acute patient presenting to the Emergency Department of the University of Pristina Medical Center between 10:00am and 10:00pm. Response rate was 87.7%. All respondents completed a structured questionnaire including demographics, the Short-Form 36 (SF-36) and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). RESULTS. All 306 respondents were Kosovar Albanians. Overall, mean age was 39 (SD=17.9). 50 (16.3%) of respondents reported symptoms that met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition criteria for PTSD; mean SF-36 mental component score (MCS) was 41.9 (SD=12.5). 296 (97.4%) respondents experienced at least one traumatic event. In separate multivariable linear regression models the following co-variates were significant predictors of HTQ post-traumatic symptom score and MCS: older age (p<0.001 in both models), female gender (p=0.02 and 0.002 respectively), less than a high school education (p=0.03 and 0.05), and having experienced a greater number of traumatic events (p<0.001 in both models). CONCLUSIONS Two years after the war, mental health problems in post-conflict Kosovo, particularly among specific vulnerable populations, remain a significant public health concern.
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Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.