Mental Healthcare Needs in World Trade Center Responders: Results from a Large, Population-Based Health Monitoring Cohort

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Adm Policy Ment Health
• Personal Author:
  Diab, Olivia ; DePierro, Jonathan ; Cancelmo, Leo ; Schaffer, Jamie ; Schechter, Clyde ; Dasaro, Christopher R ; Todd, Andrew ; Crane, Michael ; Udasin, Iris ; Harrison, Denise ; Moline, Jacqueline ; Luft, Benjamin ; Southwick, Steven M ; Feder, Adriana ; Pietrzak, Robert H.
• Description:
  Purpose.
  
  Nearly two decades after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC), the prevalence of mental disorders remains elevated among traditional (e.g., police) and non-traditional (e.g., construction workers) responders who were involved in the WTC rescue, recovery, and clean-up efforts. To date, however, scarce research has examined factors associated with perceived need for mental health care, which is critical to promoting engagement in mental health treatment in this population.
  
  Methods.
  
  Data were analyzed from 16,170 WTC responders, including 8,881 police responders and 7,289 non-traditional responders, who completed their first annual health monitoring visit with the WTC Health Program an average of 6.5 years after 9/11/2001. Predisposing, enabling, and need-based factors associated with perceived need for mental health care were examined using multivariable logistic regression analyses.
  
  Results.
  
  Nearly half (48.7%) of non-traditional responders and a fifth (20.6%) of police responders reported a need for mental health care. The most common perceived needs were for psychotropic medication, individual psychotherapy, and stress management counseling. Predisposing (e.g., female gender) and need-based factors (e.g., WTC-related posttraumatic stress disorder) predicted perceived need for mental health care in both groups. Among non-traditional responders, Hispanic ethnicity and current suicidal ideation were additionally associated with this outcome.
  
  Conclusions.
  
  Non-traditional WTC responders are substantially more likely than police WTC responders to perceive a need for mental health treatment. Characterization of factors associated with perceived need for treatment can help inform population-based outreach and monitoring efforts designed to promote engagement in mental health treatment in WTC responders.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adult Article Checklist Community Mental Health Services Community Services Female Health Services Needs And Demand Humans Male Mental Health Service Needs Perceived Needs September 11 Terrorist Attacks Social Support Stress, Psychological Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Suicidal Ideation Surveys And Questionnaires World Trade Center Responders

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• Source:
  Adm Policy Ment Health. 47(3):427-434
• Pubmed ID:
  31776767
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC7159995
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  HHSD200201141919C/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHS/United States ; HHSD200201793325C/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHS/United States ; 200-2017-93325/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United States ; 200-2011-41919/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United States
• Volume:
  47
• Issue:
  3
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:b442f7409d47df8d2cb7e0ea59cfdc2a331d0bd5b180ef496c6c560b91c19ef9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/86936/cdc_86936_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 89.29 KB ]