Comparing the effect of social media-based drama, music and art therapies on reduction in post-traumatic symptoms among Nigerian refugees of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Purpose: The objective of this study was to ascertain the effectiveness of social media-based music, art and drama therapies in treating PTSD symptoms among Nigerian evacuees from the Russia-Ukraine war.

Design and methods: This study was a quasi-experiment involving a sample of 330 participants that were randomly assigned to control and treatment groups. The treatment group was further classified into three groups according to the different contents of the therapies they received.

Results: The study result showed that social media-based therapies effectively reduced PTSD symptoms for participants in the treatment group, unlike those who did not receive the intervention. Comparatively, drama therapy was more effective than art and music therapies. The reason drama therapy was more effective could be because it engaged the minds and body of the participants more than the other therapies.

Conclusion: Although art, music and drama therapies are effective treatment options for reducing symptoms of PTSD among victims of war, drama therapy is the most effective among them all.

Practical implications: The result of this study has practical implications for health promotion from the perspective of nursing services by showing that social media-based therapies could serve as viable and cost-effectivealternativese to face-to-face group therapy.