Studying the Prevalence of PTSD in Veterans, Combatants and Freed Soldiers of Iran-Iraq War: A Systematic and Meta-analysis Review.

War as an unpleasant and stressful phenomenon could be the cause of psychiatric disorders. This study aims to collect and compare conducted research to estimate the prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in combatants, veterans, and freed soldiers of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. This study is a case review study in which articles were found using keywords, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), veterans, combatants, captive, soldiers and war in domestic and foreign databases, personal archives, libraries of Iran and Tehran Universities of Medical Sciences and the National Library. The cumulative incidence of PTSD was determined to be 27.8% in veterans, combatants, and freed soldiers. The prevalence of PTSD as seen in civilian and some military studies is less than the values determined in this study. Reasons for this discrepancy may be due to longer durations of exposure and greater numbers of in-the-field missions, multiple traumas, and higher rates of combat exposure, as well as differences in sampling and measurement strategies (e.g. the use of questionnaires instead of clinical interviews).

Assessing the impact of stigma reduction interventions in Iran: A qualitative study from the perspective of mental health stakeholders.

Introduction: The fear and embarrassment associated with stigmas discourage patients from help seeking behavior, which may explain why even the patients' loved ones advise them to discontinue treatment to avoid being labeled. In addition, stigmas can lead to personal and family issues, causing patients to disregard their illness. As such, their disease may develop into a chronic condition. This being said, the present study aims to investigate the challenges, solutions, and successes associated with stigmatization in Iran from the perspective of mental health stakeholders. Method: A qualitative study was conducted in the summer of 2022. Purposive sampling was utilized to recruit participants. The primary data collection method involved a focus group interview that lasted 110 min. The project manager monitored the interviews, and all research team members attended the meetings, took notes, and made the necessary preparations. After explaining the study's purpose and ensuring the data's confidentiality, the interviewer led a focus group discussion. The interviews were recorded with the participants' consent. A focus group was used to conduct interviews with 13 individuals until data saturation was reached. Findings: Ten psychologists, psychiatrists, and managers responsible for mental health, two patients, and one patient's family member participated in the current study as eligible participants. Repeated readings led to the emergence of three main classes under the headings of challenges, solutions, and successes of stigma management in Iran, each containing subclasses. Conclusion: The majority of the proposed solutions in this study centered on raising awareness and training diverse individuals and groups to lessen stigmas. The most crucial de-stigmatization measure is to offer training that will cause the current stereotypes to change. This must be taken by patients and their families as well as therapists, leaders, policymakers, the general public, and the media. Ideally, younger members of the target groups should be considered for these pieces of training, which must be based on research and derived from cultural and localized needs.

Clergy's Viewpoint Change Toward Mental Health and Stigma on Mental Illness: A Short Course Training.

Background: As stigma is one of the main barriers in promoting the mental health, the present study was designed with the purpose of reviewing clergy's viewpoint regarding the effect of mental health workshops on these barriers. Methods: For this study, by order of Iran's Health Ministry, a questionnaire was designed to examine the clergy's viewpoint related to mental illnesses and the consequent stigma. Ten faculty members and psychiatrists confirmed the questionnaire's validity after some modifications. In this research, 30 members of the clergy from the main religious city in Iran's "Qom" Seminary attended the training workshops for 2 days. The data obtained from the clergy's responses were analyzed using the SPSS software (ver.16) and descriptive and analytical tests. Also, the significance level was considered p < 0.05 in all tests. The results exhibited that the mean and standard deviation (Mean ± SD) of the clergy's attitude domain and awareness before the workshop was 1.90 ± 26.30 and 8.31 ± 1.64, respectively. Also, average and standard deviation (Mean ± SD) of their attitude domain and awareness after the workshop was 1.95 ± 29.73 and 1.18 ± 10.70, respectively. Discussion: The present study, which was designed to examine the clergy's viewpoint toward mental illnesses and the consequent stigma in the most considerable religious base in the country, illustrated that one strategy for reducing mental illness stigma in religious communities can be by holding training sessions to promote the clergy's awareness of and attitude toward mental health. Conclusion: There was a significant statistical difference between their awareness and attitude scores before and after the workshop (p < 0.01). In the present research, the awareness and attitude of clergy toward mental health and stigma due to mental illness was relatively good and significantly increased by holding the workshop.

The prevalence of depression among iran-iraq war veterans, combatants and former prisoners of war: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

By exposing individuals to trauma, wars can cause a host of psychiatric disorders. This study aimed to collect and compare the studies conducted to estimate the prevalence of depression among veterans, former prisoners of war (POWs) and military personnel in the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988). In this systematic review, a search was conducted using relevant keywords in major national and international databases, personal archives and national academic libraries. We screened 135 records using their abstracts and selected a total of 56 studies for full-text review. Eventually, 19 studies were included in our systematic review and meta-analysis. The estimated pooled prevalence of depression among Iranian veterans and POWs was 22.4% (95% confidence interval = 15.0-32.0). Although the results indicated disparities in the prevalence of depression among veterans and POWs, the aggregate estimated prevalence was much higher than what has been reported for military personnel. Effective policies and strategies are required for prevention and treatment of depression and related psychiatric complications among veterans and former POWs.

Evaluating the Prevalence of PTSD among Children and Adolescents after Earthquakes and Floods: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Our study systematically reviews articles about the prevalence of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among children and adolescents, aiming to evaluate its prevalence after earthquakes and floods.Three databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) were searched for articles published from 1981 to 2019 containing information on PTSD prevalence among survivors of earthquakes and floods. Articles with insufficient data on the prevalence of PTSD or without any available full-text were excluded. Major study variables consist of the prevalence of PTSD of the included studies, gender, and the elapsed time after the disaster. The overall PTSD prevalence was determined using a fixed-effect model for eligible studies. Of 4107 studies listed using our search strategy, 439 underwent full-text review, 59 records included in the systematic review, and 39 records met the criteria for meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of PTSD among children and adolescent survivors after earthquakes and floods was 19.2% (95%CI = 18.6-19.7%), 30.0% (95%CI = 29.5-30.6%), 24.4% (95%CI = 23.4-25.4%) and 20.4% (95%CI = 19.1-21.7%), in the first, second, third and fourth six-month intervals after the disaster, respectively. Our analysis also revealed that PTSD was more prevalent among girls (p < 0.001). The absence of psychological support for affected areas considerably increases the risk of PTSD among survivors. Our results indicated that children and adolescents, especially girls, are more vulnerable and should be in top priority. The governments should refine their policies on post-disaster services and run early screening, immediate intervention, and ongoing monitoring for PTSD, as well as mental and emotional supports.