Anxiety, depressive symptoms, and distress over the course of the war in Ukraine in three federal states in Germany

War-related stress scale

BACKGROUND

The current war in Ukraine has affected the well-being of people worldwide. In order to understand how difficult the situation is, specific stressors associated with war need to be measured. In response, an inventory of war-related stressors including its short form, has been developed.

METHODS

A list of potential war-related stressors was created, and the content validity of each item assessed. The list, along with other validated scales, was administered to a representative sample of the Slovak population (effective N = 1851). Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity analysis and network analysis were carried out to determine the optimal scale (long and short form) focused on war-related stressors.

RESULTS

The full version of the scale consists of 21 items, further divided into three factors: society-related stressors, person-related stressors, and security-related stressors. The short version of the scale comprises nine items loaded onto one factor. These items cover concerns for one's safety and future, access to necessities, potential worsening of the economic situation, and the risk of conflict escalation, including a nuclear threat. The results of the network analysis indicate that concern about escalation and fear of an economic crisis play a central role.

CONCLUSIONS

The scale attempts to encompass a wide spectrum of areas that are affected by war and its potential consequences on individuals who reside outside the conflict zone. Given the complexity of the issue, researchers are invited to modify the scale, tailoring it to specific cultural, geographical, and temporal contexts.

The prevalence and determinants of PTSD, anxiety, and depression in Ukrainian civilian physicians and paramedics in wartime-An observational cross-sectional study six months after outbreak

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is the largest European land offensive since World War II. Individuals affected by conflicts such as war are at an increased risk of mental disorders, which result from frequent exposure to traumatic events and the breakdown of supportive social networks. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence and determinants of PTSD, anxiety, and depression in Ukrainian civilian physicians and paramedics six months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A cross-sectional study was conducted using validated questionnaires: The Life Events Checklist, PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, The International Trauma Questionnaire (ICD-11), The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, The Patient Health Questionnaire-9, The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0. The study showed that 61.1 % of participants indicated combat or exposure to a war zone as the most bothersome event in their experience. Physicians and paramedics did not differ in the prevalence of PTSD according to the DSM-5 diagnostic rule and of depression (criteria met by 14.5 % and 9 % of participants, respectively). However, more physicians than paramedics met the criteria of PTSD according to the ICD-11 diagnostic rule (5.1 % vs. 1.2 %) and of anxiety (16.5 % vs. 10.0 %). The risk factors for the mental health problems included personal combat experience, total trauma exposure, parenthood, and economic situation. Despite the differences found in the prevalence of PTSD depending on the criteria used, the severity of mental problems and disability in this group is significant. It is advisable to monitor the mental state and need for help among Ukrainian civilian medical personnel.

[Developments in the digitalization of public health since 2020 : Examples from the Leibniz ScienceCampus Digital Public Health Bremen]

Digital public health has received a significant boost in recent years, especially due to the demands associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In this report, we provide an overview of the developments in digitalization in the field of public health in Germany since 2020 and illustrate these with examples from the Leibniz ScienceCampus Digital Public Health Bremen (LSC DiPH).The following topics are central: How do digital survey methods as well as digital biomarkers and artificial intelligence methods shape modern epidemiology and prevention research? What is the status of digitalization in public health offices? Which approaches to health economics evaluation of digital public health interventions have been utilized so far? What is the status of training and further education in digital public health?The first years of the Leibniz ScienceCampus Digital Public Health Bremen (LSC DiPH) were also strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Repeated population-based digital surveys of the LSC indicated an increase in use of health apps in the population, for example, in applications to support physical activity. The COVID-19-pandemic has also shown that the digitalization of public health enhances the risk of misinformation and disinformation.

Fear of war in Germany: An observational study

Background

Given the very limited knowledge, the purpose of this study was to identify the current prevalence and correlates of fear of conventional and of nuclear war in the general adult population (Germany).

Methods

Data were taken from a representative survey (n = 3091 participants; mid-March 2022). Established items were used to quantify fear of conventional war and fear of nuclear war. Linear regressions were used to examine the correlates of fear of conventional war and fear of nuclear war, adjusting for several covariates.

Results

While 5.3 % of the respondents were not at all worried about a conventional war, 44.2 % of the respondents reported some fear and 50.5 % of the respondents reported severe fear of a conventional war. Similarly, 7.7 % of the respondents were not at all worried about a nuclear war, whereas 45.7 % of the respondents reported some fear and 46.6 % of the respondents reported severe fear of a nuclear war. The prevalence rates mainly slightly differed between sociodemographic groups (with the exception of gender and having children) and were thus consistently high. Regressions showed that both higher fear of a conventional war and higher fear of a nuclear war were associated with being female, having children in own household, being married and living together with spouse, having at least one chronic illness and poor self-rated health.

Conclusion

Our study showed high prevalence rates for fear of war (both, conventional war and nuclear war). Knowledge about the correlates may assist in tackling individuals at risk for severe fear. Against the background of the current events in Eastern Europe, future research in this area is urgently required.