Quality of Life of Palestine Children Exposed to Wars in Gaza | Chapter 02 | Current Trends in Disease and Health Vol. 2
Aim:
This study aimed to investigate the impact of
trauma due to wars on quality of life of Palestine children living in Gaza with
special reference to 2009 war.
It is analytic study; the study sample consisted of
195 children and adolescents who were selected purposely from three areas in
the Gaza Strip. Those children exposed to variety of traumatic events besides
losing their homes during ground incursion of the border and shelling and
bombardment of the area. They were 101 boys (51.8%) and 94 girls (48.2%). The
age ranged from 7 to 18 years with mean age of 12.84 (SD = 2.9). Children were
assessed by socio-demographic questionnaire, Gaza Traumatic Events Checklist,
and Health Related Quality of Life.
Results: The highest frequencies of reported
traumatic events by Palestinians children were 97.9% hear shelling of the area
by artillery, 93.3% hear the sonic sounds of the jetfighters, 90.8% watched
mutilated bodies in TV, and 85.6% were forced to move from home to a safer
place during the war. The study showed that mean total quality of life was
62.80, physical functioning was 69.87,
emotional functioning was 51.96, mean of social functioning was 77.62,
and school functioning mean was 47.53. Total traumatic events reported by
children were negatively strongly correlated with total Health Related Quality
of Lief (HRQoL), physical, emotional, and social functioning. However, traumatic
experiences by children were not correlated with school function.
Conclusion: In summary, this study not only
supports the findings of the body of research as it relates to traumatic
experiences in children and adolescents and impact of their health quality of
life, but also has important implications for establishing and implementation
of different psychosocial intervention programs for the school-aged population
in Gaza Strip. There are need to be considered in the planning of educational
and mental health support services by different governmental United Nations
organizations, and non-governmental organization in Gaza. Also, successful
treatment of the mental health symptoms associated with traumatic events first
requires an acknowledgment of the trauma and then a process which allows for
comprehensive assessment and accurate diagnosis.
Author(s) Details
Prof. Abdelaziz Mousa
Thabet
Department of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry, Al-Quds University, School of Public Health, Child
Institute, P.O.Box 5314, Gaza, Palestine.
Sanaa S. Thabet
Child and Family Training
and Counseling Center-NGO, Palestine.
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