Health-related rehabilitation after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake
Citation: Kimuli Balikuddembe J, Zeng X, Chen C. Health-related rehabilitation after the 2008 great Wenchuan earthquake in China: a ten year retrospective systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020;17(7):2297.
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17072297
URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/7/2297
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: Sichuan University (China).
What is this? In this retrospective systematic review, the authors searched for peer-reviewed studies of health-related rehabilitation (HRR) interventions for survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China. They restricted their searches to studies published in English between 2008 and 2018. They included 11 articles.
What works: Various interventions, often in combination, were used to address physical, psychological, and other HRR needs among survivors. The most commonly used interventions were narrative exposure therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, Xiao-Tan-Jie-Yu-Fang (a Chinese herbal formula), calligraphic training, and web-based self-help programmes. These interventions were successful in treating post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and in creating social support.
What is uncertain: It is uncertain which HRR interventions were more effective than others.
Implications: The authors of the review stated that many HRR interventions are effective and healthcare providers should consider combinations of different interventions to offer holistic care to survivors of earthquakes.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discussed some of their findings in the context of ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, and social capital.
This summary was prepared by Briann Mensour, checked by Jeremy Scudder, Grace Meng and Sydney Johnson, and finalized by Mike Clarke.