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Early psychological impact of Paris terrorist attacks on healthcare emergency staff: A cross‐sectional study
Author(s) -
Stefano Carla,
Orri Massimiliano,
Agostinucci Jean Marc,
Zouaghi Haroun,
Lapostolle Frederic,
Baubet Thierry,
Adnet Frederic
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
depression and anxiety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.634
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6394
pISSN - 1091-4269
DOI - 10.1002/da.22724
Subject(s) - poisson regression , medicine , health care , psychiatry , occupational safety and health , injury prevention , poison control , medical emergency , environmental health , population , pathology , economics , economic growth
Background The terrorist attacks in Paris and Saint Denis on November 13, 2015 were an unprecedented traumatic event in France. It was an especially distressing ordeal for the healthcare personnel involved in the care of the victims. The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of direct participation in the rescue on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among these workers. Methods Less than a month later, 613 healthcare providers (professionals and paraprofessionals) from three hospitals in the Paris suburbs were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire. A multivariable Poisson model estimated the effect of participating onsite in the rescue (exposure variable) on the number of PTSD symptoms measured by the Trauma Screening Questionnaire (TSQ; outcome variable), adjusted for covariates. Results Two hundred thirty‐three providers completed the assessment (38% response rate), 130 participated directly in the rescue (56%). Participation was associated with a higher number of symptoms of PTSD (RR = 1.34, P = .002) than for nonparticipants. Female gender (RR = 1.39, P < .001) and basic (vs. advanced or intermediate) life‐saving training (RR = 1.42, P = .004) were also associated with more PTSD symptoms. Participants in the rescue were at 2.76 times more risk of a probable PTSD diagnosis (OR = 2.76, P = .037), defined as reporting at least six PTSD symptoms. Sensitivity analyses using propensity score matching supported the robustness of our findings. Conclusions Healthcare providers directly involved in the rescue of the victims of the Paris and Saint Denis attacks reported a significantly higher psychological impact, defined by PTSD symptoms, than those not directly involved.