Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35832466›Full record

ArticleJournal of migration and health2022

Cango Lyec (Healing the Elephant): Probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in Northern Uganda five years after a violent conflict.

Jue Luo, David S Zamar, Martin D Ogwang, Herbert Muyinda, Samuel S Malamba, Achilles Katamba, Kate Jongbloed, Martin T Schechter, Nelson K Sewankambo, Patricia M Spittal

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of migration and health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Ethical Principles and Practices in HIV Acquisition Research in Humanitarian Crises: A Cross-Sectional Study.The Journal of law, medicine & ethics : a journal of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics · 2026
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Jue LuoSchool of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
David S ZamarSchool of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Martin D OgwangSt Mary's Hospital - Lacor, Gulu, Uganda.
Herbert MuyindaChild Health Development Center, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Samuel S MalambaHIV Reference Laboratory Program, Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), Entebbe, Uganda.
Achilles KatambaCollege of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Kate JongbloedSchool of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Martin T SchechterSchool of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Nelson K SewankamboCollege of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Patricia M SpittalSchool of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
University of British Columbia · CAMakerere University · UGBC Children's Hospital · CASt. Mary's Hospital Lacor · UGUganda Virus Research Institute · UG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: From 1986 to 2006, Northern Uganda experienced an atrocious civil war between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government. Acholi people living in the region continue to be impacted by trauma sequelae of the war and a wide range of daily stressors including poverty, hunger, and high rates of HIV infection. To date, there is a dearth of gender-differentiated mental health research in this post-conflict setting. The current study aimed to estimate the prevalence of probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in three districts most affected by the Northern Ugandan conflict and examine socio-structural, war-related, and sexual vulnerability factors associated with mental health. Methods: Cango Lyec (Healing the Elephant) is an open cohort study involving participants from eight randomly selected communities in Amuru, Gulu, and Nwoya districts of Northern Uganda. Between November 2011 and July 2012, the baseline cohort ( Results: The overall prevalence of probable PTSD and depression was 11.7% and 15.2% respectively. Among former abductees, the prevalence was 23.2% for probable PTSD and 26.6% for probable depression. Women were significantly more likely to experience mental distress than men. Factors associated with mental distress included wartime trauma (adjusted odds ratios ranging from 2.80 to 7.19), experiences of abduction (adjusted odds ratios ranging from 1.97 to 3.03), and lack of housing stability and safety (adjusted odds ratios ranging from 1.95 to 4.59). Additional risk factors for women included HIV infection (AOR=1.90; 95% CI: 1.29-2.80), sexual abuse in the context of war (AOR=1.58; 95% CI: 1.02-2.45), and intimate partner violence (AOR=2.45; 95% CI: 1.07-5.63). Conclusion: Cango Lyec participants displayed lower than previously reported yet significant levels of probable PTSD and depression. Based on findings from this study, providing trauma-informed care, ensuring food and housing security, eliminating gender-based violence, and reintegrating former abductees remain important tasks to facilitate post-conflict rehabilitation in Northern Uganda.

Indexed as

DepressionHIVInternal displacementPTSDWar trauma

Identifiers

PMID35832466
PMCPMC9272377
OpenAlexW4283160449

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.