Disaster psychiatry: principles and practice.
Increasingly, trauma and disasters are part of everyday life. Psychiatrists can play an important role in assisting individuals and communities to recover. They bring a unique set of skills and experiences that can be invaluable in minimizing morbidity and facilitating recovery. This paper discusses psychological, physiological, behavioral, and community responses encountered in the aftermath of a disaster. A preventive medicine model of understanding disaster response is discussed in which the psychiatrist delineates traumatic stressors and high-risk populations. The importance of psychiatric participation in disaster preparedness is emphasized. Psychiatric interventions targeted at the various longitudinal phases of disaster response are reviewed.
Norwood
A E
AE
Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-4799, USA.
Ursano
R J
RJ
Fullerton
C S
CS
D004189:Disaster Planning; D004190:Disasters; D006801:Humans; D010819:Physician's Role; D011570:Psychiatry; D012066:Relief Work; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology