Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Mental Health Practitioners in Butabika and Mulago Referral Hospitals in Uganda

Abstract

Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) leaves the care-givers feeling anxious, confused, depressed and depleted. This research aimed at establishing the prevalence of secondary traumatic stress among Mental Health Practitioners (MHPs) in Butabika and Mulago referral hospitals in Uganda. Simple random sampling was used to select a sample of 123 respondents, 61 from Butabika and 62 Mulago hospitals. The study used a retrospective cohort study design. Categorical variables were summarized as frequencies and corresponding percentages while continuous variables were summarized as frequencies, means and standard deviations. Chi- square tests were used to check association between variables in the two cohorts (P-value =0.05). The study revealed that 27.9 % of the MHPs from Butabika hospital and 32.3% from Mulago hospital had STS. The study showed that some MHPs in both hospitals were fatigued and recommended psychological care services for them.