Effects of Trauma History among 2014-16 Ebola Virus Disease Epidemic Survivors Living in Victoria, Australia

Abstract

Background: Trauma from previous experiences such as car accidents, robberies, knife attacks, wars, and other types of violence or witnessing the deaths could have exacerbated the experiences of the 2014-16 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) Epidemic. Objective: To study past trauma experiences among those West Africans who survived the 2014-16 EVD epidemic and now reside in Victoria - Australia. Methods and materials: A sequential exploratory mixed methods design utilised an online survey to collect quantitative and qualitative data that were followed by interviews. The quantitative survey adopted the Trauma History Screen tool and descriptive statistics. The qualitative interview followed thematic analysis using the five-phase model. Result: Participants' age ranged between 18-40 years, 52% were females and 29/68 respondents were included in the analysis of traumatic experiences. Further,75% of respondents witnessed the sudden deaths of family and friends. They further, reported psychosocial symptoms including fear, stress, distress, depression, flashbacks, and altered sleep patterns in both infectious outbreaks. Conclusion: This study provides data on previous experiences of traumatic events among EVD survivors that could have affected how they coped and dealt with the EVD epidemic. The psychosocial sequelae highlight the importance of continuous evaluation of the mental health of people with previous traumatic experiences. Findings from this study are useful in designing intervention programmes to mitigate these sequelae.