Posttraumatic Psychiatric Disorders and Resilience in Healthcare Providers following a Disastrous Earthquake: An Interventional Study in Taiwan

Abstract

Background. Posttraumatic psychiatric disorders (PTPDs) are common in disaster workers; however, their incidence and resilience in healthcare providers (HCPs) following a disastrous earthquake are still unclear. Therefore, we conducted an interventional study to clarify this issue. Methods. After a medical response to the scene of a collapsed huge building, we conducted an assessment of the HCPs using an immediate self-administered questionnaire and a follow-up questionnaire 1 month later. Psychological support after the operation was implemented. We performed analysis of the risk for PTPDs and comparison between immediate and follow-up questionnaires. Results. The mean age (standard deviation) of the HCPs was 32.7 (5.2) years, with 33.5 (5.8) years for nurses and 32.4 (4.4) years for physicians. The proportion of females among the nurses and physicians was 94.3% and 12.5%, respectively. In total, 16.4% (11/67) of HCPs fit the criteria of PTPDs. Nurses had a trend of higher incidence than physicians. Female HCPs had a trend of higher incidence than male HCPs. After intervention, none of the HCPs reported PTPDs in the follow-up questionnaire (p<0.05). Conclusion. This study delineated that PTPDs were common in HCPs following medical response to an earthquake; however, the resilience was good after the early intervention.