Rational for conducting PTSD Researchand Challenges of Recruiting and Training Volunteers to Screen and Treat PTSD among the Nepal 2015 Earthquake Survivors

• Main Authors: Arun Jha, Suraj Shakya
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nepal Medical Association 2015-09-01
• Series: Journal of Nepal Medical Association
• Online Access: http://jnma.com.np/jnma/index.php/jnma/article/view/2793

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is common psychiatric morbidity among earthquake survivors, and if untreated people suffer from it for years. Government of Nepal and NGOs provided various short-term mental health services to the victims of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, but there was no plan or provision for long-term mental health problems. The prevalence of PTSD following natural disasters depends on various local factors requiring understanding and further investigation before identifying affordable evidence based interventions. This paper discusses the need for PTSD research among the survivors of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, and describes the challenges and difficulties of recruiting and training PTSD volunteers. 
 Keywords: earthquake; narrative exposure therapy; Nepal; prevalence; PTSD.