Abstract
Background: Psychological support may be relevant during postabortion care, but self-report symptom scores should not be equated with a clinical diagnosis. Objective: To estimate the distribution of post-traumatic stress symptom scores among women receiving postabortion services at Nakuru Level Five Referral Hospital. Methods: This secondary manuscript reports Objective One of a 2020 cross-sectional thesis. The thesis sampled 192 women and used a modified 17-item, five-response symptom scale. Frequencies across five thesis-defined score bands and mean scores for three symptom domains were extracted. A Wilson 95% interval was calculated for scores at or above 38. Results: Of 192 respondents, 25 (13.0%) were classified as little or no symptoms, 17 (8.9%) mild, 6 (3.1%) moderate, 13 (6.8%) high, and 131 (68.2%) severe. Thus 150 of 192 (78.1%; Wilson 95% CI 71.8-83.4%) scored at least 38 under the thesis threshold. Mean domain scores were 2.82 for intrusion, 3.02 for avoidance and 3.06 for arousal. Conclusion: Elevated symptom scores were common in this facility sample. Modified scale scoring, selection, timing and lack of diagnostic interview preclude a clinical PTSD prevalence estimate or causal inference about the preceding pregnancy event.
Publication details
Article URL: https://www.nijamss.org/articles/nijamss-v1s2-aug2026-034/
Full-text PDF: https://www.nijamss.org/articles/nijamss-v1s2-aug2026-034/full-text.pdf
References
References have not been supplied as separate metadata. Please consult the full-text PDF for the article's reference list.
Citation
Eunice Kanini Mitheu; Daniel A. Otwori. Prevalence of Elevated Post-Traumatic Stress Symptom Scores among Women Receiving Postabortion Care at Nakuru Level Five Referral Hospital, Kenya. Nexus International Journal of Applied Science, Medicine and Social Sciences, Vol. 1, Issue 2, August 2026.