Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate symptomatology and diagnoses of PTSD and subthreshold PTSD and the screening properties of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) within a sample of Dari-speaking women of refugee background receiving antenatal care. This cross-sectional study administered the HTQ to 52 Dari-speaking women at a public pregnancy clinic. The trauma module from the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID-5) was administered. Interview material was presented to an expert panel, blinded to the HTQ screening results, in order to achieve consensus diagnoses of PTSD using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM-5) criteria. Three women (5.8%) met DSM-5 criteria for PTSD. Eleven women (21.15%) met criteria for subthreshold PTSD, defined as meeting two or three of the DSM-5 criteria domains. A comparison of HTQ cut-off scores was conducted and a score of ≥ 2.25 on the HTQ demonstrated excellent sensitivity 1.00 (95% CI 0.29–1.00) and specificity 0.76 (95% CI 0.61–0.87) in detecting PTSD; however, a wide confidence interval for sensitivity was found. A cut-off score of ≥ 2 provided the best balance of sensitivity 1.00 (95% CI 0.72–1.00) and specificity 0.80 (95% CI 0.65–0.91) when assessing for subthreshold PTSD. Screening for perinatal PTSD for women of refugee background is recommended, in order to identify those at risk of DSM diagnosis and also those women experiencing distressing PTSD symptomatology.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all the women who participated as well as the staff at the antenatal clinic for their support of this research project. RB is supported by a scholarship from Australian Rotary Health (Ian Scott PhD Scholarship), the Windermere Foundation, and the Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation. MGH and JAB are Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Fellows.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by RB, MGH, KG, and GM. The first draft of the manuscript was written by RB and all authors commented on draft versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of Monash University and Monash Health (14475L on 03/03/2015).
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Blackmore, R., Gray, K.M., Melvin, G.A. et al. Identifying post-traumatic stress disorder in women of refugee background at a public antenatal clinic. Arch Womens Ment Health 25, 191–198 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-021-01167-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-021-01167-8