Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
STRATEGIES TO REDUCE POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AMONG HEALTH CARE WORKERS IN THE CASUALTY DEPARTMENT IN KENYATTA NATIONAL HOSPITAL, NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA By WAIRIMU MOSES CHIRA, KATHENYA MAGDALENE, MUCHERE GLADWELL NKIROTE, MAGGIE KALONDU MEKI, NAIMODU EVANS LEPISH, HUSSEIN RISALA ABDULLAHI, ONG’ANYO DABLINE NANZALA ABSTRACT Background: This study was based on the conviction that as the casualties of different tragedies suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the healthcare workers were too not immune to this, among other psychotic disorders. The casualty workers dealt with almost all emergency situations from the disasters that happen countrywide, ranging from bomb blast, grenades, tribal crashes, tragic accidents, cases of fire, sexual assaults, domestic and other violence, referrals among others. Objectives: The aim of this study was to address the research question "what are the best available and applicable strategies that can be employed in order to reduce the PTSD among the healthcare workers in the casualty department in Kenyatta national hospital (KNH)? Design: cross-sectional study. Settings: Casualty department, Kenyatta national hospital (KNH). Respondents: The study concentrated more on health care workers in the casualty department. 15 Medical officers and 56 nursing officers who were working in the casualty department participated in the study. Method: The study engaged respondents that met the inclusion criteria which was; must have been a registered Medical officer or Nursing officer who worked at the casualty department. The instrument used included; social demographic data questionnaire (SDDQ) and self-rating questionnaire (SRQ). Alongside with the above, years of professional experience and previous experience with the tragic events were also recorded for better comparison. Diagnosis was made using the Diagnostic and statistical manual fourth edition (DSM-IV). Result and conclusion: The prevalence of PTSD among casualty health workers in KNH was 27.8%, of which 35% and 65 % of them were male and female respectively. Majority of them were nursing officers (80%).Most PTSD positive respondents were in the 30-39 years age bracket. To add on this, 95.8% of all participants were psychologically affected for caring of traumatized patients and had at least one symptom of PTSD. Majority of PTSD positive respondents had a working experience of 1-5 years (75%). In conclusion this study showed that among other psychiatric morbidities, PTSD exists among the health care workers. The hospital management also has a significant input to the workers to reduce the symptoms of PTSD and the need to be aware that the stress disorder exists among its workers. It was recommended that frequent debriefing, education on psychological trauma management, employment of more counselors and taking care of the staff welfare would play a big role in reducing the symptoms for PTSD. However, more research is needed to find out the needs of the staff from the hospital management to help them live psychologically healthy lives.