About Six in Ten Survivors of the November 2020 Maikadra Massacre Suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Northwest Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive distressing memories of a traumatic event and dissociative reactions. Little is known about post-traumatic stress disorder in low and middle income countries such as Ethiopia where armed conflict, human rights violations, and ethnic-based violence are becoming everyday occurrences. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder and associated factors among residents of Maikadra, North West Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was employed in April 2021. A multi-stage cluster sampling technique was employed to select the study participants. A post-traumatic stress disorder checklist (PCL-5) was used to assess post-traumatic stress disorder through a face-to-face interview. Bivariate and multi-variable binary logistic regression analyses were carried out to examine the association between posttraumatic stress disorder and several demographic and psychosocial variables. Statistical significance was declared at a P-value <0.05. RESULTS: A total of 610 participants were interviewed with a response rate of 98.8%. The prevalence of PTSD in this study was 59.8% with a 95% CI of 55.7–63.9. Female sex (AOR=1.93, 95% CI=1.64–3.24), having a close family member killed or seriously injured (AOR=1.96, 95% CI=1.1–3.48), having moderate (AOR=3.35, 95% CI=1.98–5.68) and high perceived threat to life (AOR=3.66, 95% CI=1.85–6.95), having depression (AOR=1.67, 95% CI=1.13–2.47) and anxiety disorder (AOR=1.85, 95% CI=1.21–2.83), and being directly exposed to the event (AOR=3.27, 95% CI=1.09–9.83) were significantly associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. CONCLUSION: The majority of the residents of Maikadra town where the November 2020 massacre took place experienced posttraumatic stress disorder. Female sex, having a family member or a friend murdered or seriously injured, having depression and anxiety disorders and being directly exposed to the trauma were found to be significant predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder. People who have been exposed to such an intense traumatic event need psychosocial support to help them recover from the horrible experiences.