The Effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy in Treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among ICU Healthcare Professionals in Cameroon: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Healthcare professionals in intensive care units (ICUs) face a significantly heightened risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to prolonged exposure to trauma and high-stress environments. This crisis is exacerbated in low-resource settings such as Cameroon by systemic challenges and sociopolitical instability. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy in treating PTSD among ICU healthcare professionals in Cameroon. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a non-randomized control group was employed. A total of 134 participants (67treatment, 67 control) from Saint Elizabeth General Hospital and Banso Baptist Hospital were stratified by professional role to obtain 44 nurses, 10 physicians, and 13 support staff from each hospital. PTSD symptom severity was measured using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL5) at baseline, post-intervention, and a three-month follow-up. The treatment group received six weeks of standard EMDR therapy. Results from a repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a significant time × group interaction effect, F(2, 99) = 402.66, p < .001, η²ₚ = .891. Participants receiving EMDR demonstrated a dramatic reduction in PCL-5 scores from baseline (M = 40.92, SD = 6.14) to follow-up (M = 8.80, SD = 3.04), with 100% achieving clinical remission (≥10-point reduction) at follow-up compared to 5.9% in the control group. The findings provide robust evidence that EMDR therapy is highly effective in producing rapid and sustained remission of PTSD symptoms among ICU healthcare workers in Cameroon, supporting its integration into mental health support protocols for frontline staff in resource-constrained settings.