228657 Injury and Pain Among a War-Affected Population in Mitrovicë District of Kosovo (I): Prevalence and Risk Factors

Monday, November 8, 2010 : 12:30 PM - 12:48 PM

Shr-Jie Wang, MPH, PhD , Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims, Copenhagen, Denmark
Mimoza Salihu, MS , Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims, Pristina, Kosovo
Feride Rushiti, MD , Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims, Pristina, Kosovo
Labinot Bala , Department of psycology, University of Pristina, Pristina, Kosovo
Jens Modvig, MD, PhD , International department, Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims, Copenhagen, Denmark
Background: To develop an evidence-based rehabilitation programme, we investigated injury and pain complaints in relation to collective exposure to violence and human rights violations the population in Mitrovicë district of Kosovo.

Methods: The population-based study consists of two elements: household survey and functional assessment at a mobile clinic (presented in the part II). A cross-sectional two-stage cluster sampling was used. The survey was conducted in September-October 2008. We surveyed 1,115 households with a population of 6,845.

Results: Around 7% of the population had been tortured and 20% had mental or physical pain complaints. Pain complaints increased with age over 35 years old. An association was found between the proportion of family members with pain complaints and a decline in the household income because of the injury of a family member. A family's affiliation with the Kosovo Liberation Army and participation in a protest prior to 1999 were related to being targeted by Serbian paramilitary groups and law enforcement agencies. Pre- and post-trauma patterns of social and political participation of a family member and family financial burden were likely to affect the proportion of family members complaining of pain.

Conclusion: Active participation in political or social movement could be a risk factor of victimisation but it could also determine the personal, social, and behavioural competence to deal constructively with difficult situation at war or the post-war setting. We recommend a community-based rehabilitation programme to focus on promoting social participation and increasing involvement of vulnerable or excluded groups in all community activities.

Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Other professions or practice related to public health
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the prevalence of annual injury, life experience on violence-attributable injury, pain complaints and torture experience. 2. Identify the risk factors of victimization at family and community level. 3. Discuss the socio-economic and political factors which attributed to lower proportion of family members with pain complaints

Keywords: War, Vulnerable Populations

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principle investigator of a multi-country research project and I particapted in every stage of study design, data collection and analysis.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.