Research Article

Mass Psychogenic Illness in Haraza Elementary School, Erop District, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: Investigation to the Nature of an Episode

Table 2

Summery of themes and subthemes for the occurrence of mass psychogenic illness in Haraza Elementary School, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, 2019.

Category (CAs)Themes (TMs)Orders/subthemes (Os/ST)

School community membersTheme 1: onset of an episodeOnset of illness occurred for the first time
Incident occurred while students were learning English
Index case does not have an economic problem
Index case was a middle-level student
No one told us the type of incident even health workers
Community membersTheme 2: community perception about the incidentSuch type of incident does not occur before in the locality
Health professionals
No one told us the type of incident including health professionals
Such type of incident does not occur before in the locality
No one told us the type of incident including health professionals
Unknown communicable disease
Blaming of an unidentified teacher being an evil eye
Community membersTheme 3: treatment sought by the communityFrequent follow-up of holy water
Visiting a sorcerer
Praying for “God”
Not confident to attend the health service
The disease not known by health professionals
Health professionalsTheme 4: health professional awarenessWe do not know the disease and did not experience before
The disease was unspecified
It was difficult for us to manage the incident
Health professionalsTheme 5: psychosocial impacts of the illnessDiscriminating complaints thinking being transmitted disease
Community membersSchool dropout
Community frustration not sending students at school