Trauma, poverty and mental health among Somali and Rwandese refugees living in an African refugee settlement – an epidemiological study

Onyut LP, Neuner F, Ertl V, Schauer E, Odenwald M, Elbert T. Trauma, poverty and mental health among Somali and Rwandese refugees living in an African refugee settlement – an epidemiological study. Conflict and Health. 2009;3(1):6.Background: The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among Rwandese and Somali refugees resident in a Ugandan refugee settlement, as a measure of the mental health consequences of armed conflict, as well as to inform a subsequent mental health outreach program. The study population comprised a sample from 14400 (n = 519 Somali and n = 906 Rwandese) refugees resident in Nakivale refugee settlement in South Western Uganda during the year 2003. Methods: The Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist 25 were used to screen for posttraumatic stress disorder and depression. Results: Thirty two percent of the Rwandese and 48.1% of the Somali refugees were found to suffer from PTSD. The Somalis refugees had a mean of 11.95 (SD = 6.17) separate traumatic event types while the Rwandese had 8.86 (SD = 5.05). The Somalis scored a mean sum score of 21.17 (SD = 16.19) on the PDS while the Rwandese had a mean sum score of 10.05 (SD = 9.7). Conclusion: Mental health consequences of conflict remain long after the events are over, and therefore mental health intervention is as urgent for post-conflict migrant populations as physical health and other emergency interventions. A mental health outreach program was initiated based on this study

Schizophrenia and psychotic symptoms in families of two American Indian tribes

Abstract Background The risk of schizophrenia is thought to be higher in population isolates that have recently been exposed to major and accelerated cultural change, accompanied by ensuing socio-environmental stressors/triggers, than in dominant, mainstream societies. We investigated the prevalence and phenomenology of schizophrenia in 329 females and 253 males of a Southwestern American Indian tribe, and in 194 females and 137 males of a Plains American Indian tribe. These tribal groups were evaluated as part of a broader program of gene-environment investigations of alcoholism and other psychiatric disorders. Methods Semi-structured psychiatric interviews were conducted to allow diagnoses utilizing standardized psychiatric diagnostic criteria, and to limit cultural biases. Study participants were recruited from the community on the basis of membership in pedigrees, and not by convenience. After independent raters evaluated the interviews blindly, DSM-III-R diagnoses were assigned by a consensus of experts well-versed in the local cultures. Results Five of the 582 Southwestern American Indian respondents (prevalence = 8.6 per 1000), and one of the 331 interviewed Plains American Indians (prevalence = 3.02 per 1000) had a lifetime diagnosis of schizophrenia. The lifetime prevalence rates of schizophrenia within these two distinct American Indian tribal groups is consistent with lifetime expectancy rates reported for the general United States population and most isolate and homogeneous populations for which prevalence rates of schizophrenia are available. While we were unable to factor in the potential modifying effect that mortality rates of schizophrenia-suffering tribal members may have had on the overall tribal rates, the incidence of schizophrenia among the living was well within the normative range. Conclusion The occurrence of schizophrenia among members of these two tribal population groups is consistent with prevalence rates reported for population isolates and in the general population. Vulnerabilities to early onset alcohol and drug use disorders do not lend convincing support to a diathesis-stressor model with these stressors, commonly reported with these tribes. Nearly one-fifth of the respondents reported experiencing psychotic-like symptoms, reaffirming the need to examine sociocultural factors actively before making positive diagnoses of psychosis or schizophrenia.</p

Rapport III.13. Résolution numérique du problème de transport miscible en nappe captive par une méthode mixte aux éléments finis

The problem posed by the propagation of an ideal tracer in a quasi-horizontal-flowing captive aquifer is discussed. By means of restrictions in the formulation of the boundary conditions and exchange terms, the problem is shown to be well-defined. Additional restrictions show that the mass-fraction solution is always located between 0 and 1. The mixing problem was solved numerically with the aid of a composite scheme which made it possible to achieve the velocity-field accuracy required for subsequent resolution of the tracer problem, for which a closely related technique was used.On étudie le problème de la propagation d’un traceur idéal dans une nappe captive en écoulement quasi horizontal. Moyennant des restrictions dans la formulation des conditions aux limites et des termes d’échange, on montre que le problème est bien posé. Moyennant des restrictions complémentaires, on montre que la solution en fraction de masse reste toujours comprise entre 0 et 1. La résolution numérique du problème du mélange est abordée à l’aide d’un schéma mixte qui permet d’atteindre sur le champ des vitesses la précision nécessaire à la résolution ultérieure du problème du traceur, pour lequel un schéma très voisin est utilisé.Chastan Bernard, Darves-Bornoz J. M., Wolsack J. Rapport III.13. Résolution numérique du problème de transport miscible en nappe captive par une méthode mixte aux éléments finis. In: L'hydrotechnique au service d'une politique de l'eau. Évolution des problèmes de l'eau au cours de la dernière décennie. Compte-rendu des XVes journées de l'hydraulique. Toulouse, 5, 6 et 7 septembre 1976. Tome 1, 1979