Testimony method to ameliorate post-traumatic stress symptoms. Community-based intervention study with Mozambican civil war survivors.

Abstract

The effectiveness of the testimony method has not been established in rural communities with survivors of prolonged civil war. To examine the effectiveness and feasibility of a testimony method to ameliorate post-traumatic stress symptoms. Participants (n=206) belonged to former war zones in Mozambique. They were divided into a case (n=137) and a non-case group (n=69). The case group was randomly divided into an intervention (n=66) and a control group (n=71). Symptoms were measured during baseline assessment, post-intervention and at an 11-month follow-up. Post-intervention measurements demonstrated significant symptom reduction in both the intervention and the control group. No significant differences were found between the intervention and the control group. Follow-up measurements showed sustained lower levels of symptoms in both groups, and some indications of a positive intervention effect in women. A remarkable drop in symptoms could not be linked directly to the intervention. Feasibility of the intervention was good, but controlling the intervention in a small rural community appeared to be a difficult task to accomplish.