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Evaluating a Culturally Tailored Digital Storytelling Intervention to Improve Trauma Awareness in Conflict-Affected Eastern Congo: Quasi-Experimental Pilot Study
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DOI：10.2196/81291.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent in conflict-affected regions like eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; yet, cultural stigma and lack of psychoeducation limit public understanding and help-seeking behaviors. Objective: This study evaluates the effect of a short, culturally adapted animated video on mental health perception, knowledge, and attitudes toward trauma. Methods: A community-based quasi-experimental pre-post design was implemented among 239 participants from South Kivu. The intervention involved viewing a 3-minute animated psychoeducational videoportraying locally relevant PTSD symptoms and resilience strategies. Perception, knowledge, and attitude scores were measured before and after the intervention, alongside PTSD prevalence and videoappreciation. Results: Out of 239, 40% (n=96) of the participants screened positively for PTSD. Post intervention, significant improvements wereobserved in perception (P=.01), knowledge (P<.001), and attitudes (P=.001) toward trauma. Appreciation was high; 82% (n= 195) expressed empathy for the characters, and 74% (n= 176) were likely to share the video. Linear regression showed that having PTSD symptoms (beta coefficient=3.29, SE=1.09; P=.003), years of education (beta coefficient=0.54, SE=0.08; P<.001), empathy toward the portrayed situations (beta coefficient=5.07, SE=0.56; P<.001), perceived acquisition of new knowledge (beta coefficient=2.58, SE=0.59; P<.001) and willingnesstosharethevideo (beta coefficient=1.75, SE=0.50; P=.001) predicted stronger positive effect. A multiple linear regression including all predictors revealed that PTSD symptoms (beta coefficient=1.93, SE=0.90; P=.03), years of education (beta coefficient=0.47, SE=0.07; P<.001), empathy toward the portrayed situations (beta coefficient=3.50, SE=0.55; P<.001), and willingnessto share the video(beta coefficient=1.75, SE=0.50; P=.001) remainedsignificant predictors of video impact. Age and perceived acquisition of new knowledge were not significant in the multivariate model. This model accounted for 44.6% of the variance in videoimpact scores (R2=0.446, F6,231=30.99, P<.001). Conclusions: This study highlights the effectiveness of culturally grounded, low-cost digital media for improving mental health literacy in postconflict settings. Video-based tools may serve as scalable components of trauma-informed care and public health communication in low-resource, high-needareas.
Keywords:
post-traumatic stress disorder
digital media
mental health awareness
culturally adapted intervention
educational technology
psychoeducation
armed conflicts
mobile phone
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