scholarly journals Spatial clustering of people with memories and responses six years after an earthquake in Cauquenes, Chile

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Leiva-Bianchi ◽  
Carlos Mena ◽  
Yony Ormazábal ◽  
Carlos Serrano

The occurrence of earthquakes can cause psychiatric problems expressed as unpleasant and uncontrollable memories of the event termed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Mapping the location of people and identifying their exposure and reactions to an earthquake can be extremely valuable from a public, mental health point of view. The main objective of this study was to examine people with respect to PTSD and healthy post-traumatic growth (PTG) after an earthquake searching for expression of geographic clustering that could be useful for a better understanding of mental health conditions. Geographic information systems analyses were performed to detect global and local geographic clustering. Investigating 171 randomly selected adults from Cauquenes, Chile, we demonstrated spatially clustered variables related to PTSD and PTG in Cauquenes six years after an earthquake. Urban and peri-urban areas had clear differences (hotspots/coldspots). The spatial identifications found should facilitate exploring the impact of mental health programmes in communities exposed to disasters like earthquakes, thereby improving their quality of life as well as reducing overall costs.

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Leiva-Bianchi ◽  
Carlos Mena ◽  
Yony Ormazábal ◽  
Carlos Serrano ◽  
Pedro Rojas

Recent findings indicate that both disruptive Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and healthy Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) responses have some spatial distribution depending on where they are measured and the different degrees of exposure that people may have to a critical event (e.g., earthquake). Less is known about how these responses change as a function of space and time after these events. The objective of this study was to enter deeper into this relationship analysing how PTSD and PTG responses vary in their spatial distribution 6 and 7 years after an earthquake (such as the one that occurred on 27 February, 2010 in Cauquenes City, Chile). Spatial analyses based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were performed to detect global and local geographic clustering. Investigating 171 (2016) and 106 (2017) randomly selected adults from Cauquenes, we demonstrated that 7 years after the event only 4 variables were spatially clustered, i.e. personal mental strength, interpersonal relations, new possibilities and appreciation of life), all of them PTG dimensions; This result contrasted with the situation the previous year (2016), when 7 variables were clustered (total PTG, spiritual change, new possibilities, appreciation of life, PTSD symptoms, PTSD reactions and PTSD in total). The spatial identifications found could facilitate the comparison of mental health conditions in populations and the impact of recovery programmes in communities exposed to disasters.


2020 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Murphy ◽  
C Williamson ◽  
J Baumann ◽  
W Busuttil ◽  
N T Fear

IntroductionData are emerging showing the adverse consequences on mental health of the general public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about the needs of veterans with pre-existing mental health difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsData were collected through a cross-sectional online survey from a randomly selected sample (n=1092) of military veterans who have sought help for mental health difficulties from a veteran-specific UK-based charity. The response rate was 25.2% (n=275). Participants were asked to complete a range of standardised mental health outcomes (post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, common mental health difficulties (CMDs): 12-Item General Health Questionnaire, difficulties with anger: 5-Item Dimensions of Anger Reactions—Revised and alcohol misuse: Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and endorse a list of potential stressors related to changes to daily life resulting from COVID-19. Regression analyses were fitted to explore predictors of mental health severity.ResultsIt was observed that symptoms of common mental disorder and PTSD (69.3% and 65.0%, respectively) were the most commonly reported to have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Lack of social support and reporting increasing numbers of stressors related to COVID-19 were consistently associated with increasing severity of a range of mental health difficulties.ConclusionsOur findings suggest veterans who had pre-existing mental health difficulties prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 may be at increased risk of experiencing CMDs as a result of the pandemic. Intervening to improve levels of social support and offering practical guidance to better manage any additional stressors relating to the pandemic may provide strategies to help reduce the burden of mental health symptoms.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 432
Author(s):  
Athena Madan

<p class="Default">“Refugee war trauma” is a poor adjunct to post-traumatic stress, lacking context for a civilian survivor of war. The “therapeutic mission”, or consolidating a therapeutic agenda with political reconstitution, has its tensions: Such founders embody politics of “emotionology” (Humphrey, 2005, p. 205) bound largely to pharmaceuticals, from a land of “freedom” (where emphasis is on market) and “democracy” (where emphasis is on autonomy of choice, not accountability). Additionally, how people “cope” or “solve problems” is not universal: Therapy speaks of self-empowerment, self-actualisation, and self-control; reconciliation speaks of collective citizenship, national participation, and group reform. Instituting participation in rituals that ‘help” according to predefined norms of an American prescription to suffering speaks more to the globalisation of the American psyche (Watters, 2010; Venne, 1997) than of humanitarian relief. This paper looks at the absence of cultural and socio-political specificities within the dominant discourse on “war trauma”, that are however of ultimate relevance for people affected by war. Using a case example from my own practice with a Rwandan woman living now in Canada, I question the “helpfulness” of post-traumatic stress treatment with this instance of refugee war trauma, and the impact of power systems in mental health care. How can the therapeutic encounter, given its genesis in Eurocentric, patriarchal, enlightenment thought, pause to better consider its potential for injury, especially within contexts of post-colonial genocide? How to avoid a new “mission to civilise”? What tensions to note as the advent of “trauma counselling” seeks more global application and transnational legitimacy?</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 44-54
Author(s):  
Julia Budzyńska ◽  
Magdalena Leśniewska ◽  
Ilona Kozioł ◽  
Joanna Milanowska

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of a coronavirus pandemic in 2019 posed a serious threat to the global population. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has not only been a public health emergency, but has also affected mental health worldwide. Patients were exposed to a number of significant stressors during COVID-19 infection by which it appears that it may have had a major impact on mental health. Little is known about changes in levels of psychological affect, stress, anxiety and depression during this pandemic.AIM OF THE STUDY: The purpose of this study was to analyze the most recent available literature on the association of pandemic COVID-19 with psychiatric disorders occurring both as a result of past infection and in response to stress associated with the new situation of a global epidemic of Sars-CoV-2 virus.RESULTS: The psychological effects of the epidemic are clearly noticeable. The study identified groups particularly vulnerable to developing symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Risk factors were also identified in people working in health care as having direct contact with the effects of infection with the new virus.SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS: Key elements of preventing psychological impact are the creation of a mental health organization. Another important task for governments is to create the conditions for economic security, as financial problems or job losses can also be the cause of mental crises.


Author(s):  
Jasim Anwar

With the ever-increasing number of natural disasters, it is important to understand the impact on the health and wellbeing of survivors, especially women. The reproductive and mental health of women contributes significantly to their overall wellbeing. The Chapter gives an overview of natural disasters with an emphasis on consequences of earthquakes of health and wellbeing of the survivors. It includes a critical review of published studies on psychological trauma and reproductive health following earthquake disasters. Among the psychological consequences of earthquakes, this chapter describes post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. The last section of this chapter reviewed reproductive health in relation to the mental health consequences following natural disasters.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ali Fardin ◽  
Sophia Khaneghahi

Background: The long-term outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), accompanied by high mortality rates, hysteria, and economic pressures, has profound, irreversible psychological effects worldwide. Objectives: This study compared mental health and post-traumatic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak in the peak period of the pandemic in five regions of Iran. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey was carried out at the peak of the pandemic using free Google Forms® software. A snowball sampling method focused on the general public in the north east-west, central part, and south east-west of Iran was utilized from March 24 to 29th of 2020. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) were applied as data collection tools. Results: The current study included 749 respondents from all provinces in Iran. Most of the participants were from the southeast and the central part of Iran and stayed at home for about 20 to 24 hours during COVID-19 outbreak. The results of MANOVA indicated that there were no significant differences between the means of mental disorders and the impacts of COVID-19 outbreak in these five regions (F = 1.188, Wilks’ Lambda = 0.97, P ≥ 0.05). Nevertheless, one-sample test showed that the IES-R mean score was above the cut-off point, indicating the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in all regions of Iran (t = 8.025, P ≤ 0.05, 95% CI: 3.22 to 5.31). Conclusions: As a result of this study that shows the presence of PTSD symptoms in all regions, mental health care is a necessity and should be provided to the general public so that psychologists and mental health teams have to provide psychological services in-person or online method.


Rescue Press ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Walter De Luca ◽  
Yari Barnabino ◽  
Flavio Gheri ◽  
Enrico Lucenti

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the crucial role of nurses and their commitment to their work in facing the situation. Italy has seen a substantial increase in the number of requests for respiratory assistance, and nurses employed on emergency vehicles have been overwhelmed by the situation, with psychological and physical repercussions such as depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disease (PTSD). The study aims to assess the impact of the pandemic on nurses in the Local Emergency System (SET). Method Depression and PTSD via “Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health”. The questionnaire was distributed among Italian SET nurses with non-probability sampling between 1 December 2020 and 31 January 2021. Results A total of 441 Italian nurses participated in the study, with an average age of 43.28 years (SD ± 9.38) and average working experience in EMS of 11.68 years (SD ± 7.98). 6.12% of the participants worked in an Operations Centre (CO), 72.34% worked in local emergency services and 21.54% worked in both settings. 17.01% of the sample were at high risk for PTSD and 15.65% for depression.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (34) ◽  
pp. 2884-2887
Author(s):  
Ajay Kumar Joopaka ◽  
Molanguri Umashankar ◽  
Pingali Srilakshmi ◽  
Pradeep Sharma Telkapalli ◽  
Chinni Krishna Banoth ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Corona virus disease or the (COVID 19) has caused mental health problems in the general population, in people infected and hospitalised for the disease and in patients who have recovered from the disease physically but continue to suffer from lingering mental health problems. Studies have shown stress, depression, and anxiety in one third of the survivors. Similarly post-traumatic stress disorder has been reported to be around 13 % in the survivors of COVID 19. In this study, we wanted to assess the psychological symptoms in the survivors of Covid 19 patients, one month post discharge and also assess various factors associated with the same. METHODS A cross sectional telephonic survey of the patients one month following discharge was done to understand the psychological problems. Sociodemographic data was recorded on a semi structured proforma, whereas psychological distress was recorded on patient health questionnaire - 4 (PHQ - 4) and the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was screened for by the impact of event scale revised (IES - R). RESULTS Of the 200 patients evaluated, 46.8 % scored above 20 on the impact of event scale which was considered to be a positive screen for post-traumatic stress disorder. Moderate psychological distress was reported by 10.5 % and severe by 7.5 % as measured by PHQ - 4. Being married, having other family members effected by the infection and deaths in the family were some of the factors that were significantly associated with psychological distress and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. CONCLUSIONS Continued mental health support needs to be extended to members who are considered to have recovered and discharged from the hospital following the COVID 19 infection. KEY WORDS COVID 19, Psychological Symptoms, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lulejete Prekazi ◽  
Vjosa Hajrullahu ◽  
Shegë Bahtiri ◽  
Blerta Kryeziu ◽  
Blertë Hyseni ◽  
...  

Background: Frontline healthcare providers are consistently exposed to potentially traumatic events while assisting patients with COVID-19. Post-traumatic growth (PTG) happens when a person can transform trauma and use adversity in one’s advantage. In response to limited studies on positive outcomes that may occur from the pandemic; this study aimed to elucidate the positive impact of coping with COVID-19 outbreak on mental health, such as PTG.Methodology: The study comprised a sample of 691 healthcare providers 59% female, including physicians (n = 138) and nurses (n = 550), working in public health facilities in Kosovo, with an average age of 41.6 years (SD = 10.79). They were asked to complete a questionnaire with four parts: Socio-demographic, GHQ-28, COPE and PTGI. A deterioration of mental health with somatic symptoms leading to the escalation due to COVID-19 outbreak was found.Results: Female healthcare providers reported more clinical symptoms as well as higher coping skills scores than men. The domains in which positive changes were most frequently observed were Relating to Others, New Possibilities and Personal Strength. There was no significant direct effect of mental health on PTG in the mediation model, though a significant indirect effect was observed for coping skills.Conclusion: The results suggest that levels of mental health exacerbation do not play a conclusive role in determining levels of PTG, as long coping mechanisms are in place. The development and implementation of interventions to minimize COVID-19-related mental health consequences, by fostering PTG among healthcare providers could be highly beneficial in pandemic response work.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 65-85
Author(s):  
Kristia Novia ◽  
Tita Hariyanti ◽  
Laily Yuliatun

Natural disasters are still a matter of the world until today. The events pose not only physical impact but also psychological impacts that leave deep sorrow and fear. The survivors of the disaster felt they were at a very unsettled condition, felt very fearful, felt agitated for uncertain circumstances, and became very easily panicked until they could experience anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This systematic review aims to identify the impact–effects often posed by natural disasters on the soul health of survivors. Data searching is done on the Proquest, Pubmed, Science Direct, Sage, and Scopus databases that were converged in the 2013 to 2019 ranges. The psychological impact experienced by the victims after natural disaster events are depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), fear, suicide experiments, and other mental health disorders such as mood changes and a loss of interest in an activity. Natural disasters can hurt the mental health of the victims. If the psychological problems that occur to the victims are not immediately addressed, the victims will fall on more mental severe disorder conditions.


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