Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Apr 18;19(1):118.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-019-2090-y.

Post traumatic stress disorder and coping strategies among adult survivors of earthquake, Nepal

Ishwari Adhikari Baral  1 , Bhagawati K C  2
Affiliations

Post traumatic stress disorder and coping strategies among adult survivors of earthquake, Nepal

Ishwari Adhikari Baral et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most frequently reported psychiatric morbidity among the survivors of natural disasters. It is the main hindrance to rehabilitate their life. However its prevalence particularly in Nepal is largely unknown.

Aims and objectives: To investigate the prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder and use of coping strategies among the adult survivors of earthquake.

Methods: A cross- sectional descriptive study was carried out on a sample of 291 adult survivors after 10 months of Nepal Earthquake 2015. Study setting was Nuwakot district with multistage sampling (cluster sampling and systematic random sampling) method. PTSD checklist-5 was used to measure PTSD, and adapted and modified brief cope scale was used to assess coping strategies. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (independent t-test and one-way ANOVA) at 5% level of significance.

Results: Study findings revealed that PTSD was prevalent among 24.10% of adult survivors with highest intrusion symptoms (3.24 ± 0.71). It was significantly associated with age (p = 0.017), sex (p = 0.013), education (p < 0.0001) and injury to self (p = 0.003). Elderly, females, illiterates and those who were injured during earthquake are at more risk for PTSD. Highest used coping strategy was active coping (2.92 ± 0.51). Survivors not having PTSD scored more on active coping (p < 0.0001) and self distraction coping (p = 0.006) while those with PTSD mostly used passive coping (p < 0.0001), religious coping (p < 0.0001) and substance use coping (p < 0.0001).

Conclusion: Earthquake poses significant impact on mental health of the survivors. After 10 months of devastating earthquake, prevalence of PTSD among the survivors is high. Maladaptive coping strategies further increase possibility of PTSD. Effective screening and awareness program regarding promotion of positive coping strategies among the vulnerable groups should be reinforced for prevention of psychiatric morbidity among the survivors of earthquake.

Keywords: Adult survivors; Coping strategies; Earthquake; PTSD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical approval was obtained from The Institutional Review Committee, Tribhuvan University, Institute of Medicine (reference no.-210/2016). Written informed consent was obtained from each participant. Confidentially was maintained throughout the study.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

References

    1. Onsite Operation Coordination Centre . Situation analysis: Nepal earthquake. 2015.
    1. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees . Nepal: 2015 earthquakes. 2015.
    1. World Health Organization. Disasters and emergencies definitions: Training package: Panafrican Emergency Training Centre; 2002. Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/disasters/repo/7656.pdf
    1. Udomratn P. Mental health and the psychosocial consequences of natural disasters in Asia. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2008;20(5):441–444. doi: 10.1080/09540260802397487. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Galea S, Nandi A, Vlahov D. The epidemiology of post-traumatic stress disorder after disasters. Epidemiol Rev. 2005;27(1):78–91. doi: 10.1093/epirev/mxi003. - DOI - PubMed