Community violence and mental health among Iraqi women, a population-based study

Background: 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. Objectives: 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. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusion: 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.