The objectives of the study were: To (1) describe the epidemiology of emotional distress experienced by Ugandan violence researchers; to (2) assess the effectiveness of group debriefings in mitigating secondary distress; to (3) assess risk and protective factors. Eligible participants were 59 Ugandan researchers employed by the Good Schools Study (GSS, NCT01678846) to interview children and adults who experienced violence. Recruited participants were randomly assigned to group debriefings (intervention) or film viewing (control). The primary outcome was change in levels of emotional distress.
Background: Secondary distress including emotional distress, vicarious trauma (VT) and secondary traumatic stress (STS) due to exposure to primary trauma victims have been described in helping professionals and in violence researchers. To our knowledge, there are few prevalence studies, and no tailored interventions have been tested to reduce secondary distress in violence researchers. Objective: To (1) describe the epidemiology of emotional distress experienced by Ugandan violence researchers; to (2) assess the effectiveness of group debriefings in mitigating secondary distress; to (3) assess risk and protective factors. Methods: An unblinded, individually randomised trial with parallel assignment was conducted. Eligible participants were 59 Ugandan researchers employed by the Good Schools Study (GSS, NCT01678846) to interview children and adults who experienced violence in the district of Luwero, Uganda. 53 researchers agreed to participate and were randomly allocated. The intervention group (n=26) participated in three group debriefings and the control group (n=27) participated in three leisure sessions (film viewing).The primary outcome was change in levels of emotional distress (SRQ-20); secondary outcomes were levels of VT and STS at end-line.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
53
Group Debriefing involves story-telling, identifying emotional responses to these stories, psycho-education and practical information to normalize group member reactions to a distressing event.
Change from baseline Self-Report Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20) score at 5 weeks
The SRQ-20 is a 20 item measure which require simple 'yes' or 'no' responses and was designed as a screening tool for psychological symptoms/emotional distress. It has been widely used and validated in low and middle-income countries as a measure of mental health and wellbeing. The SRQ-20 was modelled as a continuous variable but also a binary variable were the top 33% of the overall distribution was deemed as having a 'high' score indicative of probable emotional distress, consistent with previous research.
Time frame: 5 weeks
Vicarious Trauma Scale (VTS) at 5 weeks
The Vicarious Trauma Scale (VTS), an 8 item measure with a 7 point Likert-type scale, has recently been developed and shown to have good psychometric properties for use as a screening tool for vicarious trauma in low resource settings. It is the only publically available screening measure of VT.
Time frame: 5 weeks
Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) at 5 weeks
The Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R)consists of 22 items with a 4 point Likert-type scale widely validated and used to screen for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It has been used by several studies to measure STS as the theoretical symptomology is similar.
Time frame: 5 weeks
Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) at 5 weeks
The Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) was developed to screen mental health and other professionals who may experience positive or negative impacts as they help others. Versions of the screening tool have good construct validity with over 200 published papers and it is widely used in research as a measure for STS and related constructs.
Time frame: 5 weeks
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