Health Hazard Evaluation of Police Officers and Firefighters After Hurricane Katrina – New Orleans, Louisiana, October 17–28 and November 30–December 5, 2005

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), April 28, 2006 / Vol. 55 / No. 16: Health Hazard Evaluation of Police Officers and Firefighters After Hurricane Katrina – New Orleans, Louisiana, October 17–28 and November 30–December 5, 2005
• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Personal Author:
  Bernard, Bruce P. ; Driscoll, Richard J. ; Kitt, Margaret ; Tak, S. ; West, Christine A.
• Description:
  In the weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, reports of increased injuries and symptoms of physical illness and psychological strain among New Orleans police officers and firefighters prompted CDC to conduct a health hazard evaluation of these two groups. Questionnaires were distributed to members of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) and New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD) 7--13 weeks after the hurricane. This report summarizes the results of that evaluation, which determined that upper respiratory and skin rash symptoms were the most common physical symptoms reported by police officers and firefighters and lacerations and sprains were the most common injuries. In addition, approximately one third of the respondents reported either depressive symptoms or symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or both. These results underscore the need to incorporate the safety and health of emergency responders into existing disaster preparedness plans and to provide periodic responder training and education in tasks unique to disaster situations. Clinical follow-up of the physical and psychological health of emergency responders should be conducted to better understand, monitor, and treat their health conditions. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Digestive System Digestive System Diseases Emergency Responders Firefighters Law Enforcement Mental Health Occupational Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Skin Diseases Stress, Psychological

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• Keywords:
  Emergency-responders Emotional-stress Fire-fighters Gastrointestinal-system-disorders Injuries Occupational-accidents Occupational-diseases Occupational-hazards Police-officers Psychological-stress Region-6 Respiratory-system-disorders Skin-disorders

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• Source:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), 2006; v. 55, no. 16, p. 456-458 (4 pdf pages)
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)   ; Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)  
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Publisher:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (U.S.)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Louisiana ; OSHA Region 6
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  p. 456-458 (4 pdf pages)
• Contributor:
  Page, Elena H. ; Tepper, Allison L. ; King, Bradley S. ; Markey, A. ; Dowell, Chad H. ; Mueller, C. ; Hurrell, Joseph J. Jr. ; Mead, K. ; Warren, A. ; Taylor-McKernan, L. ; Hales, Thomas R. ; Ewers, L. ; Brown, S.
• Volume:
  55
• Issue:
  16
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20030087
• Citation:
  MMWR 2006 Apr; 55(16):456-458
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a0180303cb04ce7ca9665680c68973daffb85d751d9a7038e68de4912f3d34cd216bdf841747de644b4e85dbfda21bfe01a2b9ce598e039b959ce1ac193d2e7d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/183125/cdc_183125_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 87.40 KB ]