NIJAMSS peer-reviewed article

Psychosocial and Care Context Factors Associated with Trauma Symptom Scores among Women Receiving Postabortion Care in Nakuru, Kenya

Eunice Kanini Mitheu; Daniel A. Otwori

Abstract: Background: Support and prior experiences may be relevant to distress in postabortion care, but a cross-sectional screening score cannot identify causes or diagnose a disorder. Objective: To describe selected psychosocial and care-context characteristics in relation to trauma symptom-score categories among women receiving care at Nakuru Level Five Referral Hospital. Methods: Objective Three of a 2020 thesis supplied five-band cross-tabulations for 192 patients. Proportions at the thesis threshold of 38, risk differences with Newcombe 95% confidence intervals, two-sided Fisher exact p-values and Holm adjustments were calculated across ten exploratory comparisons. Results: Scores of at least 38 occurred in 150 of 192 (78.1%). The risk difference for reported inclusion support versus none was -34.7 percentage points (95% CI -44.2 to -24.3); for practical support it was -35.2 (-48.3 to -21.7). Inadequate information showed a difference of 22.1 points (10.7 to 31.6). A prior mood-condition table has a counterintuitive 11/31 versus 139/161 pattern requiring source verification. Conclusion: The associations are exploratory and potentially affected by coding inconsistencies, selection and confounding; they do not establish causal effects. Respectful, voluntary assessment and clear information remain appropriate service priorities.

Keywords: Mental health; Postabortion care; Psychosocial support; Screening; Trauma symptoms

Journal

Nexus International Journal of Applied Science, Medicine and Social Sciences

e-ISSN

3144-2196

Publication date

August 2026

Volume / Issue

Vol. 1, Issue 2

Paper number

036

Article type

Original Research

Published paper ID

NIJAMSS-V1S2-AUG2026-036

Publisher

Nexus Academic Press

Access

Open Access

Full text PDF: https://www.nijamss.org/archives-download/nijamss-vol-1-series-2-august-2026-paper-036.pdf