WAR RELATED STRESS DISORDER AMONG BOSNIAN AND CROATIAN REFUGEES

Objectives: To study the impact of the Serbian invasion on Bosnia Herz egovina. To test the null hypothesis suggesting no real difference in the suffering between the Bosnian and Croatian refugees. Design: A cro ss sectional two-stage random sampling technique. Two structured quest ionnaires and direct interviews. Settings: Greater Zagrib and Split ar eas of the republic of Croatia. Target population: All Bosnian and Cro atian refugees who migrated to Zagrib and Split at the time of the stu dy. Subjects: An equal matching number of randomly selected Bosnian an d Croatian refugees. Criteria of inclusion: Arrived within 6 months of the invasion, Lived in Spit and Zagrib area in camps and dwellings pr ovided by the Croatian government, aged 17-65 years. Main outcomes: Ex posure to stress provoking events e.g. rape, attack during the migrati on, and suffering from injuries is about twice more among Bosnians tha n Croatians. Level of satisfaction regarding the living conditions is 50% less among the Bosnians. Depression and anxiety were found among b oth groups, although twice as predominant among Bosnians. Conclusion: Both sides of the conflict experienced war related stress disorders, B osnians suffered more than Croatian refugees living in the same camps who immigrated at the same time from Bosnia Herzegovina. Recommendatio ns: Immediate action is required to stop the continuous sufferings of civilians. Urgent preventive and therapeutic programs are required to counteract the stress reactions to this war.