Al-Nuaimi Maha A
Community Medicine, Ninevah College of Medicine, Mosul University, Mosul, Iraq.
Qatar Med J. 2013 Dec 23;2013(2):20-8. doi: 10.5339/qmj.2013.11. eCollection 2013.
The recent events in Iraq following the 2003 war render Iraq as a country with a high level of all types of violence. Exposure to violence, as a witness or a victim, is related to a number of longer term emotional, behavioral and social problems.
To investigate the impact of witnessing and experiencing community violence and tragedy as a factor contributing to mental health disorders among Iraqi women in the city of Mosul.
A population-based cross-sectional study of 500 women were selected by a multi-stage random sampling technique. Four catchment areas of primary health centers of Mosul city were selected. Community violence with nine commonly associated social, economic, emotional, physical and mental health symptoms were recorded by questionnaire.
The study revealed that all the participating women had a history of exposure to at least one type of community violence within the last twelve months. A mainstream consequence of exposure to community violence was transportation difficulties, loss of husband's job, and family displacement. More than half of the women were classified as having severe emotional disturbances that may evolve to mental health problems in future.
Women are bearing the consequences of the violence in Iraq. National commitment and action needs to be taken to curb the violence which is hugely affecting the people of Iraq. Treatment programs targeted at promoting emotional resilience may be effective at preventing mental health problems.
2003年战争后伊拉克近期发生的事件使伊拉克成为一个各类暴力事件频发的国家。作为目击者或受害者遭受暴力与一系列长期的情绪、行为和社会问题相关。
调查目睹和经历社区暴力及悲剧对摩苏尔市伊拉克女性心理健康障碍的影响。
采用多阶段随机抽样技术对500名女性进行基于人群的横断面研究。选取了摩苏尔市四个基层卫生中心的集水区。通过问卷调查记录了伴有九种常见相关社会经济、情绪、身体和心理健康症状的社区暴力情况。
研究表明，所有参与研究的女性在过去十二个月内都有至少接触过一种社区暴力的经历。接触社区暴力的一个主要后果是交通困难、丈夫失业和家庭流离失所。超过一半的女性被归类为患有严重情绪障碍，未来可能会演变成心理健康问题。
伊拉克女性正在承受暴力的后果。需要国家做出承诺并采取行动来遏制对伊拉克人民造成巨大影响的暴力行为。针对提高情绪恢复力的治疗方案可能对预防心理健康问题有效。
