Factores sociodemográficos, psicosociales y calidad de vida de mujeres afrocolombianas víctimas del conflicto armado en Colombia

Introduction: The armed conflict that Colombia has suffered over the last sixty years has affected the well-being of civil society, institutional sovereignty, and the population in general. This conflict has been characterized initially by the struggle for land, by the multiplicity of actors involved, and the dispersion of violence. Displacements, sexual violence, and selective assassinations cause significant damage that seriously affects the psychological and social integrity of the victims, especially women. Aim: To evaluate sociodemographic, psychosocial, and quality of life aspects ofAfro-Colombian women victims of the armed conflict in Colombia. M aterials and methods: A prospective cross-sectional study, where 122 women settled in Cartagena de Indias were evaluated, who were administered a sociodemographic questionnaire, a questionnaire on the type of crimes suffered in the armed conflict, a Self-Reporting Questionnaire, and an ICD 10 questionnaire for anxiety. Results: It was found that approximately 72 % of the women live in depressed areas of the city, in extreme poverty, with poor hygienic conditions, and in a degraded ecosystem. There is a high prevalence of distress-type neuropsychiatric disorders (75.4 %), depression (52.5 %), and suicidal ideation (37.7 %), and almost all of them suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome. Conclusions: Most Colombian women victims of the armed conflict are abandoned by state support networks, live in poor conditions, suffer from neuropsychiatric disorders, and 7 out of 10 women report that their quality of life is deficient. © 2022 Academia Nacional de Medicina. All rights reserved.