Biomedical subjects

Victor Igreja

Publications and source records attributed to Victor Igreja.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

When the war was over, little changed: women's posttraumatic suffering after the war in Mozambique.

This article explores the psychosocial effects of women's prolonged exposure to civil war in the center of Mozambique. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, 91 women were assessed for posttraumatic stress symptoms and psychosocial indicators of ill health. The results indicate that for the majority of the women in this study, traumatic experiences are sequential processes. Their ill health ranges from symptoms of posttraumatic stress to episodes of spirit possession (gamba), affecting women's capacities to conceive and raise children, and marginalizing their social position. A careful analysis of the specific problems and needs of women in postwar contexts is recommended, along with a systematic examination of the effectiveness of the available resources that may play a role in boosting trauma recovery in this group of women.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Testimony method to ameliorate post-traumatic stress symptoms. Community-based intervention study with Mozambican civil war survivors.

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of the testimony method has not been established in rural communities with survivors of prolonged civil war. AIMS: To examine the effectiveness and feasibility of a testimony method to ameliorate post-traumatic stress symptoms. METHOD: Participants (n=206) belonged to former war zones in Mozambique. They were divided into a case (n=137) and a non-case group (n=69). The case group was randomly divided into an intervention (n=66) and a control group (n=71). Symptoms were measured during baseline assessment, post-intervention and at an 11-month follow-up. RESULTS: Post-intervention measurements demonstrated significant symptom reduction in both the intervention and the control group. No significant differences were found between the intervention and the control group. Follow-up measurements showed sustained lower levels of symptoms in both groups, and some indications of a positive intervention effect in women. CONCLUSIONS: A remarkable drop in symptoms could not be linked directly to the intervention. Feasibility of the intervention was good, but controlling the intervention in a small rural community appeared to be a difficult task to accomplish.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

'Why are there so many drums playing until dawn?' Exploring the role of Gamba spirits and healers in the post-war recovery period in Gorongosa, Central Mozambique.

In the wake of a civil war, local resources can play a potential role in shaping the recovery process by providing both old and new exegeses for the disturbing effects of the past. Using the case of Gorongosa, this article aims to explore the ways in which the war has impacted upon traditional medicine by creating Gamba spirits that cause havoc but can also transform the psychosocial hurts of war survivors. Historically, traditional healing practice was under the sole responsibility of the Dzoca, an ancestral spirit that for generations was embodied in living people through lineage descent to exercise its healing powers. There is consensus among healers that the Gamba spirit and healers emerged after the war and are rapidly spreading throughout Gorongosa. I explore the emic theories to explain the Gamba's puzzling origins and the role they are currently playing in Gorongosa.

Cultural Characteristics↗