Biomedical Diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Implications for Care during Complex Emergencies

Grace Akello

doi:10.4172/2167-1222.s4-018

Abstract

Complex emergencies expose not only the physical body and (its faculties) to extreme events and violence, but also people’s way of life, the economic, infrastructure and social fabric are affected [1,2]. For example, over the twenty years of war in northern Uganda, people experienced extreme stressors, injuries, torture by fighters and deaths, abductions of children [3]. In addition, war displaced people from their livelihood, with subsequent resettlement in congested, insecure displaced persons camps [4,5].

Highlights

Complex emergencies expose the physical body and to extreme events and violence, and people’s way of life, the economic, infrastructure and social fabric are affected [1,2]
Because there was a discrepancy between what wartime persons regarded as needs, priorities and appropriate timely interventions for their suffering, I was drawn to explore how it is possible to redefine all the complex forms of suffering during war-in order to focus on the impact of violence on the physical body and more narrowly on the psyche [6]
Students in our medical school are carefully taken through the biomedical lingua, the importance of focussing on biology and biological pathology over the five years. Another discourse is that patients only come to the hospitals when they are looking for medicines and a good doctor must prescribe medicines at the end of the interaction with the patient

Summary

Introduction

Complex emergencies expose the physical body and (its faculties) to extreme events and violence, and people’s way of life, the economic, infrastructure and social fabric are affected [1,2]. War displaced people from their livelihood, with subsequent resettlement in congested, insecure displaced persons camps [4,5] In this context the biomedical trauma model guided interventions by many national and international aid agencies. Students in our medical school are carefully taken through the biomedical lingua, the importance of focussing on biology and biological pathology over the five years. Another discourse is that patients only come to the hospitals when they are looking for medicines and a good doctor must prescribe medicines at the end of the interaction with the patient. To help me understand this dilemma, I frequently give fourth year students the case below for management

Case Study

Post Traumatic Disorders