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Ford JD, Seedat S. On the path to recovery: traumatic stress research during the COVID-19 pandemic 2021-2023. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2023; 14:2281988. [PMID: 38038964 PMCID: PMC10990445 DOI: 10.1080/20008066.2023.2281988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
This Special Issue of the European Journal of Psychotraumatology (EJPT) presents 51 articles published between 2021 and 2023 and follows the Special Issue on pandemic-related traumatic stress research published in 2021 (O'Donnell, M. L., & Greene, T. [2021]. Understanding the mental health impacts of COVID-19 through a trauma lens. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12(1), 1982502). Research on traumatic stress during the pandemic has cast the spotlight on vulnerable populations and groups, notably front-line healthcare workers; people faced with major losses including the deaths of loved ones; those who personally survived debilitating and often life-threatening viral infection; and students who were isolated and experienced profound delays in their education, relationships, and emerging independence. The papers in this collection underscore the associations between COVID-19 related stressors and a plethora of adverse mental health sequelae, including posttraumatic stress reactions, and draw attention to the ubiquity of grief and moral injury and their wide-ranging and detrimental impact. Currently, there is a paucity of evidence on interventions to enhance resources, self-efficacy, and hope for affected groups and individuals through societal, organisational, and healthcare systems; however early research on the prevention of COVID-related traumatic stress disorders provides a basis for both hope and preparedness for the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian D. Ford
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, USA
| | - Soraya Seedat
- South African Medical Research Council Unit on the Genomics of Brain Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
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Havermans DCD, Hoeboer CM, Sobczak S, Primasari I, Coimbra BM, Hovnanyan A, Novakovic IZ, Langevin R, Aakvaag HF, Grace E, Dragan M, Lueger-Schuster B, El-Hage W, Olff M. The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and exposure to other potentially traumatic events up to old age. J Trauma Stress 2023; 36:738-749. [PMID: 37218466 DOI: 10.1002/jts.22937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
We investigated whether the impact of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) on trauma-related symptoms changes across the transitional adult lifespan (i.e., 16-100 years old) and if this association differs for self-reported COVID-19-related PTEs compared to other PTEs. A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 7,034 participants from 88 countries between late April and October 2020. Participants completed the Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS), a self-report questionnaire assessing trauma-related symptoms. Data were analyzed using linear and logistic regression analyses and general linear models. We found that older age was associated with lower GPS total symptom scores, B = -0.02, p < .001; this association remained significant but was substantially weaker for self-reported COVID-19-related PTEs compared to other PTEs, B = 0.02, p = .009. The results suggest an association between older age and lower ratings of trauma-related symptoms on the GPS, indicating a blunted symptom presentation. This age-related trend was smaller for self-reported COVID-19-related PTEs compared to other PTEs, reflecting the relatively higher impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Demi C D Havermans
- School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- TanteLouise, Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands
| | - Chris M Hoeboer
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers Location AMC, Amsterdam Public Health, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sjacko Sobczak
- School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Mondriaan Mental Health Center, Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Mondriaan Mental Health Center, Heerlen, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Indira Primasari
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers Location AMC, Amsterdam Public Health, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia
| | - Bruno M Coimbra
- Department of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ani Hovnanyan
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Irina Zrnic Novakovic
- Lab for Psychotraumatology, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Rachel Langevin
- Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Education, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Helene F Aakvaag
- Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Oslo, Norway
| | - Emma Grace
- Department of International Psychology, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | | | - Brigitte Lueger-Schuster
- Lab for Psychotraumatology, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Wissam El-Hage
- UMR 1253, IBrain, Université de Tours, Inserm, Tours, France
| | - Miranda Olff
- ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre, Diemen, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers Location AMC, Amsterdam Public Health, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Dyer KFW, Shannon C, McCann L, Mitchell S, Kerrigan K, McClements R, Kelly C, Jordan JA. Psychological support for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed methods study involving support providers. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2022; 13:2151282. [PMID: 38872604 PMCID: PMC9793905 DOI: 10.1080/20008066.2022.2151282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Healthcare staff represent a high-risk group for mental health difficulties as a result of their role during the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of wellbeing initiatives have been implemented to support this population, but remain largely untested in terms of their impact on both the recipients and providers of supports.Objective: To examine the experience of staff support providers in delivering psychological initiatives to healthcare staff, as well as obtain feedback on their perceptions of the effectiveness of different forms of support.Method: A mixed methods design employing a quantitative survey and qualitative focus group methodologies. An opportunity sample of 84 psychological therapists providing psychological supports to Northern Ireland healthcare staff participated in an online survey. Fourteen providers took part in two focus groups.Results: The majority of providers rated a number of supports as useful (e.g. staff wellbeing helplines, Hospital In-reach) and found the role motivating and satisfying. Thematic analysis yielded five themes related to provision of support: (1) Learning as we go, applying and altering the response; (2) The 'call to arms', identity and trauma in the collective response; (3) Finding the value; (4) The experience of the new role; and (5) Moving forward.Conclusions: While delivering supports was generally a positive experience for providers, adaptation to the demands of this role was dependent upon important factors (e.g. clinical experience) that need to be considered in the planning phase. Robust guidance should be developed that incorporates such findings to ensure effective evidence-based psychological supports are available for healthcare staff during and after the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin F W Dyer
- IMPACT Research Centre, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Antrim, Northern Ireland
- Psychological Therapies Service, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Antrim, Northern Ireland
| | - Ciaran Shannon
- IMPACT Research Centre, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Antrim, Northern Ireland
| | - Luke McCann
- IMPACT Research Centre, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Antrim, Northern Ireland
- School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland
| | - Sinead Mitchell
- IMPACT Research Centre, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Antrim, Northern Ireland
| | - Keith Kerrigan
- IMPACT Research Centre, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Antrim, Northern Ireland
| | - Rebecca McClements
- IMPACT Research Centre, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Antrim, Northern Ireland
- School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland
| | - Ciara Kelly
- Psychological Therapies Service, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Antrim, Northern Ireland
| | - Julie-Ann Jordan
- IMPACT Research Centre, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Antrim, Northern Ireland
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Paez-Maggio M, Rossi M, Fazzito L, Merello M. Validation of an events exposure questionnaire for individuals living in major cities of Argentina. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2022; 13:2031830. [PMID: 35186218 PMCID: PMC8856068 DOI: 10.1080/20008198.2022.2031830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Most of the validated 'events exposure' questionnaires are focused on lifetime burden and are hardly applicable to Argentina owing to its sociocultural and natural conditions, where corruption and economic crises have been hitting middle-class people's lives in a cyclic manner. This prompted us to develop a new questionnaire, validated in Argentina, to assess the occurrence of exposure to events and their severity over a limited period. Deductive (bibliographic search) and inductive (by a Delphi group) selection was used to create an initial group of 24 questions, which were condensed into a final 14-item questionnaire. After administration to 512 inhabitants of the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires and other major cities in Argentina, the questionnaire was shown to have an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.996 and an internal consistency, measured by the omega coefficient, of 0.86. Because this study was conducted during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, an additional question on how this situation affected individuals was included. The time span used to measure event exposure was 1 year prior to the study. In the case of an affirmative event exposure, the responder selected the severity of the stress perception generated on a Likert-like scale, ranging from 0 (nothing) to 5 (severe). Fifty-eight per cent of the responders were women, and the mean age was 47.14 years (SD: 13.97). The average annual event incidence per person was 2.5 events (SD: 1.88). Thirty-two per cent (164/512) reported at least one 5-point event on the severity scale. Ten per cent (51/512) responded that the COVID-19 pandemic affected them in a different manner than events related to personal or family disease, or the death of a close family member or friend.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Paez-Maggio
- Movement Disorders Service, Neuroscience Department, FLENI, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - M Rossi
- Movement Disorders Service, Neuroscience Department, FLENI, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - L Fazzito
- Department of Psychiatry, FLENI, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - M Merello
- Movement Disorders Service, Neuroscience Department, FLENI, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Neurodegenerative diseases, Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Abstract
UNLABELLED A recent scandal in the Netherlands painfully underscored that sexual harassment and abuse are unfortunately still happening around the world, even after decades of advocacy on this issue and five years of #MeToo. To make progress in prevention and treatment we argue that we should address sexual violence from a public health perspective. Fruthermore, looking back on the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic was the dominant and potentially traumatic stressor affecting large populations around the world. Another big topic was that of the impact of climate change, we are only beginning to realize its impact on stress across the globe. The European Journal of Psychotraumatology (EJPT), with its increasing global readership and scientific and social impact, is focusing on the traumatic stress aspects of these and many other events. Relatedly, neurobiological aspects are an important and growing focus of the journal in that they help us better understand the mechanisms behind the development of trauma-related disorders and their treatment. In this editorial, we present recent trends, new Open Science developments, journal metrics, the plans and themes for next year and the ESTSS EJPT award winners for best paper of 2021. HIGHLIGHTS Next years' research focus should be on sexual violence from a public health lens, climate change, and neurobiologal aspects of trauma-related disorders. The European Journal of Psychotraumatology (EJPT) calls or papers on these issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miranda Olff
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience & Public Health, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre, Diemen, Netherlands
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