Prevalence and Factors Related to PTSD Among Children and Adolescents Survivors and Orphans of Ebola Virus Disease in Democratic Republic of the Congo Eastern Regions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Previous studies have shown a high prevalence of mental health problems among adult Ebola disease survivors but there seems to be no study on mental health problems among children and adolescents in affected areas. In the present study, Cénat and colleagues examine the prevalence and factors related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among children and adolescent survivors and orphans of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were recruited and completed measures to assess depression and PTSD symptoms, traumatic experiences, and EVD- and COVID-19-related stigma. The authors found that almost 9 in 10 people presented depression symptoms and over 2 in 5 people had PTSD symptoms. Additionally, all participants who were both EVD survivors and orphans had depression symptoms and nearly all of them

presented PTSD symptoms (97.06%), the prevalence of both types of symptoms were lower for survivors and even lower for orphans. Finally, the authors found that experiencing traumatic experiences, EVD- and COVID-19 related stigmatisation were associated with high levels of depression and PTSD.

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