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Thisabstractwaspresentedatthesymposium“Traumaassessment2.0:Usingcustomized
computerappsinclinicalresearchandpraxis”attheXIIICongressofEuropeanSocietyof
TraumaticStressStudies(ESTSS)Conference,Bologna,Italy
SCREENINGFORMENTALDISORDERINPOST‐CONFLICTREGIONS
USINGCOMPUTERAPPS–AFEASIBILITYSTUDYFROMBURUNDI
A.Crombach1,C.Nandi1,M.Bambonye2,M.Liebrecht3,R.Pryss3,M.Reichert3,T.Elbert4andR.
Weierstall1
1–DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofKonstanz,Konstanz,Germany;
2–Universite´Lumie`redeBujumbura,Bujumbura,Burundi;
3–InstituteofDatabasesandInformationSystems,UniversityofUlm,Ulm,Germany;
4–DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofKonstanz&vivointernational,Konstanz,Germany
Ahighlevelofpsychosocialfunctioningisessentialforsurvivalinmanyresource‐poorcountries
andisneededfordevelopmentintheseregions.Organizedviolence,oftenincombinationwith
other stressors such as poverty and familial conflict, however,resultinarangeofmental
disorders and damage socio‐economic progress. An efficient assessment of mental health is a
prerequisiteforpreventionandinterventionmeasures.However,thismayrequireconsiderable
resourcesthataredifficulttoobtaininresource‐poorcountries.Wepresentnewmethodsfor
theefficientandeffectiveassessmentofmental,especiallytrauma‐andstress‐relateddisorders
thatcan easilybeadministeredbytrainedlocalparamedics.Fordecades,Burundihasbeena
staginggroundforarmedconflictsleavingbehindmanysurvivorswithtrauma‐relatedillness.In
astudywithover900combatantsandveteransfromthemilitaryaswellasformerrebelsin
Burundi,weusedatablet‐computer(ipad)‐basedsurveyfortheassessmentoftrauma‐related
syndromes,especiallyPTSD,inneedfortreatment.Allparticipantsreportedtheexperienceof
serioustraumaticstressorsandasubstantialportionpresentedseveresymptomsofthetrauma‐
spectrum.BasedonthePSS‐Iandotherstandardizedscreeninginstruments,anipadappguided
the semistructured clinical interviews. Psychologists from the University of Konstanz, the
BurundianmilitaryaswellaspsychologiststudentsfromtheUniversityLumie`re,Bujumbura,
Burundicarriedouttheinterviews.Inthiscontribution,weuse the Burundian example to
portray the logistics and technology of data acquisition and present respective data. We
demonstrate the feasibility of using a computerbased screening approach in the field and in
clinicalsettings.Weprovideevidence,thatthecomputerizedassessmentofclinicalsymptoms
canbeausefultoolformentalhealthassessmentandscreenings,bothinresearchandpractice.