AUA Alumna Ani Movsisyan MPH (2013) Published Her MPH Project in the Journal of Traumatic Stress Disorders & Treatment

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American University of Armenia (AUA) School of Public Health (MPH) Alumna Ani Movsisyan MPH (2013), MSc, DPhil candidate has published her MPH master’s thesis project in the Journal of Traumatic Stress Disorders & Treatment. The international peer-reviewed scholarly journal aims to publish the most complete and reliable source of information on the discoveries and current developments in all areas pertaining to traumatic stress. The article looks at the diagnostic accuracy and operating characteristics of the Posttraumtic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL) in post-earthquake Armenian population. The co-authors include:  Anahit Demirchyan, MD, MPH (1999), AUA School of Public Health, Vahe Khachadourian, MD, MPH (2011), PhD candidate at the Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Haroutune Armenian, MD, DrPH, AUA President Emeritus and Professor in Residence, Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Marie Diener-West, PhD, Professor, Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,  Armen Goenjian, MD, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA/Duke University National Centre for Child Traumatic Stress.

The study administered the Armenian-language version PCL (Civilian) and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV disorders in a community sample of 126 participants witnessing the 1988 Spitak earthquake. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was used to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of the instrument. PCL exhibited overall high diagnostic accuracy in the study population. The cut score of 50 was identified as the most optimal and the most efficient based in the target population. The study results render the Armenian-language version PCL as an accurate and valid instrument to screen for posttraumatic symptoms in the post-earthquake population.

For the full article “Movsisyan A, Demirchyan A, Khachadourian V, Armenian HK, Diener-West M, Goenjian A. Diagnostic Accuracy and Operating Characteristics of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist in the Post-earthquake Population in Armenia. J Trauma Stress Disor Treat 2016:5;1” follow the link.  

The AUA School of Public Health works actively to improve population health and health services in Armenia and the region through interdisciplinary education and development of public health professionals to be leaders in public health, health services research and evaluation, and health care delivery and management.