Physical and Mental Health Symptom Assessment in New Orleans Police Department Personnel 15 Months After Hurricane Katrina

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bernard, Bruce P. ; Driscoll, Richard J. ; Mueller, Charles A. ; West C
• Description:
  The HHE Program responded to a request for assistance concerning continuing respiratory, gastrointestinal, and mental health symptoms among New Orleans Police Department personnel who responded to Hurricane Katrina. Fifteen months after Hurricane Katrina, HHE Program investigators conducted a survey of physical and mental symptoms and compared the responses of participants who also completed a previous NIOSH survey done two months after the hurricane response. Investigators found the prevalence of upper respiratory symptoms, cough, post traumatic stress disorder, and depressive symptoms were similar at both surveys. Investigators also found that more gastrointestinal symptoms and lower respiratory symptoms were reported in the second survey. Reporting respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms was significantly associated with reporting symptoms of depression and post traumatic stress disorder. HHE Program investigators recommended that managers continue to encourage personnel with ongoing symptoms to seek follow-up with a healthcare provider and that an employee assistance program be implemented for those in need of ongoing psychological support. Investigators also recommended that pre- and post-exposure medical screening be conducted for personnel involved in disaster response and that existing disaster preparedness programs address health and safety needs of responding personnel. The final report is available at: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2007-0067-3076.pdf. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Digestive System Digestive System Diseases Emergency Responders Irritants Law Enforcement Lung Mental Health Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Stress, Psychological

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• Keywords:
  Emergency-responders Gastrointestinal-system-disorders Law-enforcement Law-enforcement-workers Lung-irritants Mental-health Mental-illness Police-officers Psychological-effects Psychological-responses Psychological-stress Region-6 Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-system-disorders

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• ISSN:
  1077-3525
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Louisiana ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 6
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  15
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036182
• Citation:
  Int J Occup Environ Health 2009 Oct; 15(4):416
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  922120 - Police Protection - (NAICS)
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:23930cf1febb59d0df11d4b168fbd56b0e868685e7d4668c135efabffbb131ef5f4e23178d8d5ae3b84748998d95928a94e0f58bd05a5a0af2f77536a75a5740
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187711/cdc_187711_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 207.66 KB ]