Short Reports 2020-09-14

Identification of the Potential Radiation Risk of Indoor Radon in Old Buildings of Pabedan Township, Yangon Region

Original Articles 2020-09-14

Incidence of Snakebite in Four Townships of Yangon Region

The true incidence of snakebite in Myanmar is unknown. The current data are based on hospital returns to Ministry of Health and Sports and they are likely to be under-reported. A community-based survey is useful to know the current burden of snakebite and thus for planning and formulating str

Original Articles 2020-09-11

Is Community Intervention Effective for Improving Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Care in Hard-to-Reach Areas of Chin State, Myanmar?

To tackle the maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) care needs is a challenging situation in remote and hard-to-reach areas. Intervention activities focusing on strengthening community health care network through community participation and supporting Basic Health Staffs for MNCH ser

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Aims of MHSR Journal

• To serve as an important medium for the publication of original research in the field of medical science and health research, thus filling gaps in health knowledge for effective utilization of research findings
• To impart current medical knowledge and updated scientific information obtained from research to health professionals for better and appropriate health care management
• To disseminate recent basic, applied and social research findings among health personnel of different strata for enhancing worldwide health development

Archives   2020

Myanmar   Health   Sciences   Research   Journal

Volume   32,  Number   2

TITLE:   Psychological Impact of Disaster among Flood and Landslide Victims in Mon State, Myanmar
AUTHOR:   Win Kyaw Thu Kaung San Kyaw, Soe Lin Naing & Win Le Mon
SOURCE:   Myanmar Health Sciences Research Journal, 2020; 32(2):112-119
ABSTRACT:  

Torrential monsoon rain hit Mon State in southern Myanmar with severe flooding and a catastrophic landslide in the 2nd week of August 2019. The landslide smashed into a cluster of houses in Ye Pyar Gone village, Paung Township which destroyed 27 houses and killed 72 people. Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) was delivered to disaster-affected victims and a mental health survey was conducted to assess the psychological consequences of disasters. The survey was a cross-sectional observational study and used Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health (SQD) to assess depression (SQD-D) and post-traumatic stress disorder - PTSD (SQD-P). The survey involved 109 participants and it lasted three weeks. Data extraction and analysis were done by using the Excel Spread Sheet and IBM SPSS 25 software. Socio-demographic variables and SQD scores were categorized and their proportions and means were compared by Chi-squared test. Regression analysis was used to test the association between continuous variables like age and scores. Severe depressive symptoms were found in 41.7% (95% CI=27.7-55.6%) of the landslide and 4.9% (95% CI=0-10.3%) of flood victims. Possible PTSD was found in 45.8% (95% CI=31.7-59.9%) of the landslide and 1.6% (95% CI=0-4.7%) of flood victims. The presence of severe depressive and PTSD symptoms was strongly associated with: being landslide victims (p<0.001), loss of close relatives (p<0.001) and having prior physical illnesses (p<0.001). Joblessness was also associated with more depressive symptoms (p=0.014). Increasing age was associated with higher SQD-D scores (p=0.018) and having more life-lost was associated with significantly higher SQD-D and SQD-P scores (p<0.001). After exposure to a disaster, people tend to develop PTSD and/or depression when they are associated with loss of lives, having prior physical diseases, joblessness and older age. Disaster relief workers should pay more attention and provide extra support to people with the aforementioned risk factors which should also be considered for future disaster relief planning.