Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms following exposure to acute psychological trauma in children aged 8–16 years in South Africa: protocol for the Sinethemba longitudinal study
Introduction Children exposed to trauma are vulnerable to developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other adverse mental health outcomes. In low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), children are at increased risk of exposure to severe trauma and co-occurring adversities. However, relative...
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| Format: | Article |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2024-07-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/7/e085129.full |
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| author | Mark Tomlinson Cathy Creswell Xanthe Hunt Soraya Seedat Sarah L Halligan Richard Meiser-Stedman Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis Jackie Stewart Rachel Hiller Stefani Du Toit Tamsin H Sharp Yeukai Chideya Alessandra Giuliani |
| author_facet | Mark Tomlinson Cathy Creswell Xanthe Hunt Soraya Seedat Sarah L Halligan Richard Meiser-Stedman Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis Jackie Stewart Rachel Hiller Stefani Du Toit Tamsin H Sharp Yeukai Chideya Alessandra Giuliani |
| author_sort | Mark Tomlinson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction Children exposed to trauma are vulnerable to developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other adverse mental health outcomes. In low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), children are at increased risk of exposure to severe trauma and co-occurring adversities. However, relative to high-income countries, there is limited evidence of the factors that predict good versus poor psychological recovery following trauma exposure in LMIC children, and the role of caregiver support in these high-adversity communities.Methods and analysis We will conduct a longitudinal, observational study of 250 children aged 8–16 years and their caregivers in South Africa, following child exposure to acute trauma. Dyads will be recruited from community hospitals following a potentially traumatic event, such as a motor vehicle accident or assault. Potential participants will be identified during their hospital visit, and if they agree, will subsequently be contacted by study researchers. Assessments will take place within 4 weeks of the traumatic event, with 3-month and 6-month follow-up assessments. Participants will provide a narrative description of the traumatic event and complete questionnaires designed to give information about social and psychological risk factors. Child PTSD symptoms will be the primary outcome, and wider trauma-related mental health (depression, anxiety, behavioural problems) will be secondary outcomes. Regression-based methods will be used to examine the association of psychosocial factors in the acute phase following trauma, including caregiver support and responding, with child PTSD and wider mental health outcomes.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approvals have been granted by Stellenbosch University and the University of Bath, with additional approvals to recruit via hospitals and healthcare clinics being granted by the University of Cape Town, the Department of Health and the City of Cape Town. Study findings will be disseminated via publication in journals, workshops for practitioners and policy-makers, and public engagement events. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d419ba7f1e67415c95f163947c736979 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-07-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-d419ba7f1e67415c95f163947c7369792024-12-16T22:55:12ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552024-07-0114710.1136/bmjopen-2024-085129Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms following exposure to acute psychological trauma in children aged 8–16 years in South Africa: protocol for the Sinethemba longitudinal studyMark Tomlinson0Cathy Creswell1Xanthe Hunt2Soraya Seedat3Sarah L Halligan4Richard Meiser-Stedman5Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis6Jackie Stewart7Rachel Hiller8Stefani Du Toit9Tamsin H Sharp10Yeukai Chideya11Alessandra Giuliani12School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen`s University Belfast, Belfast, UKDepartment of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UKInstitute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South AfricaSouth Africa PTSD Research Programme of Excellence, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South AfricaDepartment of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UKDepartment of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Therapies, University of East Anglia Norwich Medical School, Norwich, UKDepartment of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UKDepartment of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South AfricaDivision of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UKDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South AfricaDepartment of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UKInstitute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South AfricaDepartment of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UKIntroduction Children exposed to trauma are vulnerable to developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other adverse mental health outcomes. In low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), children are at increased risk of exposure to severe trauma and co-occurring adversities. However, relative to high-income countries, there is limited evidence of the factors that predict good versus poor psychological recovery following trauma exposure in LMIC children, and the role of caregiver support in these high-adversity communities.Methods and analysis We will conduct a longitudinal, observational study of 250 children aged 8–16 years and their caregivers in South Africa, following child exposure to acute trauma. Dyads will be recruited from community hospitals following a potentially traumatic event, such as a motor vehicle accident or assault. Potential participants will be identified during their hospital visit, and if they agree, will subsequently be contacted by study researchers. Assessments will take place within 4 weeks of the traumatic event, with 3-month and 6-month follow-up assessments. Participants will provide a narrative description of the traumatic event and complete questionnaires designed to give information about social and psychological risk factors. Child PTSD symptoms will be the primary outcome, and wider trauma-related mental health (depression, anxiety, behavioural problems) will be secondary outcomes. Regression-based methods will be used to examine the association of psychosocial factors in the acute phase following trauma, including caregiver support and responding, with child PTSD and wider mental health outcomes.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approvals have been granted by Stellenbosch University and the University of Bath, with additional approvals to recruit via hospitals and healthcare clinics being granted by the University of Cape Town, the Department of Health and the City of Cape Town. Study findings will be disseminated via publication in journals, workshops for practitioners and policy-makers, and public engagement events.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/7/e085129.full |
| spellingShingle | Mark Tomlinson Cathy Creswell Xanthe Hunt Soraya Seedat Sarah L Halligan Richard Meiser-Stedman Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis Jackie Stewart Rachel Hiller Stefani Du Toit Tamsin H Sharp Yeukai Chideya Alessandra Giuliani Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms following exposure to acute psychological trauma in children aged 8–16 years in South Africa: protocol for the Sinethemba longitudinal study BMJ Open |
| title | Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms following exposure to acute psychological trauma in children aged 8–16 years in South Africa: protocol for the Sinethemba longitudinal study |
| title_full | Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms following exposure to acute psychological trauma in children aged 8–16 years in South Africa: protocol for the Sinethemba longitudinal study |
| title_fullStr | Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms following exposure to acute psychological trauma in children aged 8–16 years in South Africa: protocol for the Sinethemba longitudinal study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms following exposure to acute psychological trauma in children aged 8–16 years in South Africa: protocol for the Sinethemba longitudinal study |
| title_short | Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms following exposure to acute psychological trauma in children aged 8–16 years in South Africa: protocol for the Sinethemba longitudinal study |
| title_sort | post traumatic stress disorder symptoms following exposure to acute psychological trauma in children aged 8 16 years in south africa protocol for the sinethemba longitudinal study |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/7/e085129.full |
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