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Trauma as a Public Health Issue: Epidemiology of Trauma and Trauma-Related Disorders

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Evidence Based Treatments for Trauma-Related Psychological Disorders

Abstract

Reports in the mainstream media suggest that traumatic events, such as natural disasters, sexual assault, and child abuse, are frequent occurrences throughout the world and take a tremendous psychological toll on individuals and communities. In this chapter, we aim to present the global public health burden posed by trauma exposure. To accomplish this goal, we review the prevalence and distribution of traumatic events and trauma-related disorders from epidemiologic studies. Epidemiology is the cornerstone of public health and focuses on the distribution and causes of disease in human populations and on developing and testing ways to prevent and control disease. Epidemiological studies have provided empirical evidence on the high prevalence of trauma and the devastating effects of trauma-related disorders and have shown that trauma is not equally distributed across populations. When presenting the results, we note methodological considerations that make cross-study comparisons difficult. Finally, we use the epidemiologic data presented to discuss public health approaches to addressing trauma and trauma-related disorders. We conclude that trauma exposure is a major public health problem whose health burden has only begun to be appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Sarah R. Lowe, Jaclyn Blachman-Forshay & Karestan C. Koenen

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  1. Sarah R. Lowe
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  2. Jaclyn Blachman-Forshay
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  3. Karestan C. Koenen
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Correspondence to Sarah R. Lowe .

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  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Ulrich Schnyder

  2. Dissemination & Training Division, National Center for PTSD, San Franciso, California, USA

    Marylène Cloitre

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Lowe, S.R., Blachman-Forshay, J., Koenen, K.C. (2015). Trauma as a Public Health Issue: Epidemiology of Trauma and Trauma-Related Disorders. In: Schnyder, U., Cloitre, M. (eds) Evidence Based Treatments for Trauma-Related Psychological Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07109-1_2

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