THE POST-TRAUMATIC EFFECTS OF THE GULF WAR ON THE RESERVE FLIGHT NURSES OF AN AIR MOBILITY COMMAND SQUADRON (NURSES, POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER).
Contributors: Walden University.
Published: 1994
Number of pages: 100
Subjects: Health Sciences, General.; Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Clinical.
Description: A quantitative and qualitative screening study for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was conducted on 80 reserve flight nurses of an Air Mobility Command Squadron who served during the Persian Gulf War.

The voluntary study involved a mail survey and a personal interview of six nurses. The Mississippi Scale for Combat Related PTSD was the questionnaire and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID) section E was used for the personal interview. Both instruments have been tested in the past for reliability and validity.

Analysis of variance was used to compare the variables on the personal data sheet with the scores of the Mississippi Scale to determine if there was a difference in the score depending on where the nurse was located during the war. A cut off score of 86 for the Mississippi Scale was chosen as none of the nurses scored in the 130 range significant of PTSD. Eighty-six is a scoring range labeled Psych, indicating that symptoms are present but the score falls below the PTSD threshold. Thirteen percent of the nurses were found to demonstrate symptoms of PTSD with scores $>$86. The score was considered significant when the P value was $<$0.050 and a null hypothesis if the score had a P $>$ 0.050. The higher the score on the Mississippi Scale, the greater the symptoms. The only significant difference between the scores of the Mississippi and the variables on the Personal Data sheet were age (P 0.020), physical symptoms (P 0.022), and location (P 0.050). Nurses in the age range of 51-60 scored lower than nurses in the range of 21-30. Nurses who served in the Gulf demonstrated more physical symptoms. Nurses who served in the Gulf scored higher than those who served in Germany or the United States.

The scores on the Mississippi were compared to the scores on the SCID. Out of the six nurses that were interviewed, four were positive for symptoms of PTSD. Three of the four had scores in the 80s and one scored 68 on the Mississippi, demonstrating the importance of personal interviews as 68 is well below the PTSD threshold.

Recommendations were made to the squadron for future research.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-01, Section: B, page: 0156.

Thesis (PH.D.)--WALDEN UNIVERSITY, 1994.

School code: 0543.