Impact of war stress on posttraumatic stress symptoms in hospital personnel.
OBJECTIVE
This study examines the relationship between exposure to war stress and posttraumatic symptoms among nurses and physicians in a general hospital targeted by missiles.


METHODS
Hospital staff who were exposed to missile attacks and casualties of war, both military and civilians (n=80), were assessed for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms a month after the war between Lebanon and Israel erupted (during the last days of the war).


RESULTS
High levels of PTSD symptoms were found in 10.5% of physicians and 35.7% of nurses. Logistic regression analysis showed that nurses had an increased risk for PTSD in comparison to physicians (odds ratio=5.28).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings show that nurses suffered from more severe posttraumatic symptoms compared to physicians after exposure to prolonged war stress. The gap between physicians and nurses warrants further study.
Ben-Ezra
Menachem
M
Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. menbe@post.tau.ac.il
Palgi
Yuval
Y
Essar
Nir
N
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D014857:Warfare