Title: Efficacy of Psychosocial Group Treatment for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder among Genocide Survivors in Rwanda, 25 Years After 1994 Genocide Against Tutsi.
Abstract Background: Prior studies indicated that post-traumatic stress disorder is becoming a global health concern even though still poorly known and treated. In the aftermath of 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, studies found high rates of depressive and anxious symptoms along with PTSD among genocide survivors. Due to the highest cruelty in which the Genocide was committed, genocide survivors still need high special humanitarian services, of those including specialized health care services. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of psychosocial group therapies created by AVEGA Agahozo in reducing PTSD symptoms among Genocide survivors in Rwanda, 25 years after 1994 Genocide against Tutsi.Methods: We conducted a comparative cross-sectional study design with a sample of 98 genocide survivors who received group therapy by AVEGA Agahozo. We used a multi-stage random sampling method to select participants and 7 trained psychologists interviewed genocide survivors about their PTSD status before and after treatment using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. The analysis was performed using SPSS version 17.1.Results: The results showed that women were 97.96% and men presented 2.04% of all participants because AVEGA Agahozo mainly focuses on helping women survivors who lost their husbands in Genocide and previous findings also concluded that women are very prone to suffer from PTSD than men. Paired t-test results showed significant differences between symptoms, before and after treatment (P<0.001 in all pairs). Cohen's d results also showed high effect sizes (d>0.5), only in pair 8 where the difference appears to be less significant (d=0.28). The descriptive statistics showed that the severity of PTSD symptoms dramatically reduced after treatment. But this difference of severity is only statistically significant among five (5) PTSD symptoms.: (Marked physiological reactivity after exposure to trauma-related stimuli [P=0.045, x2=38.111]; inability to recall key features of the traumatic event [P<001, x2=56.309]; persistent negative trauma-related emotions [P=0.013, x2=43.184]; self-destructive or reckless behavior [P=0.041, x2=38.535]; hypervigilance [P=0.020, x2=41.596]. Conclusion: Psychosocial group therapies created by AVEGA Agahozo effectively alleviate post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and severity among genocide survivors.