Psychosocial assessment for victims of violence in Peru: the importance of local participation.
This paper describes a pilot study assessing the psychosocial impact of political violence in the Peruvian Andes, utilizing a collaborative approach with local professionals and communities. The study team prioritized dialogue and information exchange with the local professional community and villagers participating in the assessment in order to raise awareness of psychosocial issues and provide education and support. Participation in the pilot study had positive therapeutic effects for villagers, and inspired ongoing discussion groups to address psychosocial problems in communities. This paper also describes a psychosocial assessment strategy utilizing qualitative methods and an adaptation of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire in collaboration with Andean villagers. Usefulness and limitations of the data will be reviewed, in terms of cultural and context relevance, usefulness for informing interventions, and comparisons with ethnographic methodologies and other survey instruments.
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, USA.
Leslie
L
Snider
Claudio
C
Cabrejos
Edith Huayllasco
EH
Marquina
Juan Jose
JJ
Trujillo
Alexis
A
Avery
Homero Ango
HA
Aguilar
D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011057:Politics; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012423:Rural Health; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D023481:Terrorism / Q000523:psychology*; D014857:Warfare