Abstract:
Background: Little research exists in Sub-Saharan Africa on the rates of mental
disorders following terror attacks. Available studies have examined Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) only. This study sought to document the
burden of PTSD, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Generalized Anxiety
Disorder (GAD) among survivors of the Garissa University College terror attack
that occurred in North Eastern Kenya in 2015.
Methods: This was a retrospective chart review of medical records of students
screened for psychopathology following the attack. Screening for the terror
attack related PTSD, for MDD and for GAD was done using the PTSD Checklist
for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 (PCL-5), the Patient Health
Questionnaire -9 (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 – item Scale
(GAD-7), respectively. Screening was conducted 7 weeks after the attack.
Results: A total of 552 subjects were screened of whom 385 (69.7%) were male.
Two hundred and fifty eight (46.7% [95% CI: 42.5, 50.9]) participants met criteria
for a probable PTSD. Two hundred and five (37.1% [95%CI: 33.1, 41.2]) screened
positive for MDD while 231 (41.8% [95%CI: 37.7, 46.0]) had probable GAD There were high rates of co-occurrence of PTSD, MDD and GAD with 139
(25.1%) participants screening positive for all three disorders.
Conclusions: The results of this study show a high mental health impact upon
survivors of the attack. These findings have implications for the planning of
interventions in the aftermath of terror attacks in Kenya.