| Flood-Related Work Disruption and Poor Health Outcomes Among University Students. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 23031409 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
Introduction Globally, floods are the most common and among the most devastating of natural disasters. Natural disasters such as floods impact local businesses, increasing local unemployment by up to 8.2%. Previous research has linked individual losses from disasters with symptoms such as posttraumatic stress disorder. However, little is known about the impact of work disruption and job loss on post-disaster psychological symptoms. University students, who are often living far away from family support structures and have limited resources, may be particularly vulnerable. This study examines student psychological health following a large flood at a university. Hypothesis Students who experienced flood-related job loss or disruption had a higher proportion of psychological symptoms than those who did not experience job loss or disruption, controlling for individual loss such as injury, home loss or evacuation. METHODS: On June 8, 2008, a major flood affected seven US Midwestern states. A total of two dozen people were killed and 148 injured, although no deaths or serious injuries were reported in the population used for this study. At the study university, operations were closed for one week, and 20 buildings were severely damaged. A cross-sectional survey of all students enrolled during the semester of the flood was conducted. Students were sent an online survey six weeks after the flood. In addition to questions about damage to their homes, the survey asked students if their work was disrupted because of the floods. Symptoms of PTSD were measured through the modified Child PTSD Symptom Scale. RESULTS: Of the 1,231 responding students with complete surveys, 667 (54.2%) reported that their work was disrupted due to the floods. Controlling for gender, ethnicity, grade, and damage to the student's home, students reporting work disruption were more than four times more likely to report PTSD symptoms (95% CI, 2.5-8.2). Work disruption was independently associated with decreases in general mental and physical health following the floods, as well as with increases in alcohol use. Conclusion Disaster research has focused on damage to individuals and homes, but there has been little focus on work losses. Individuals who lose their jobs may be a vulnerable population post-disaster. Peek-Asa C , Ramirez M , Young T , Cao Y . Flood-related work disruption and poor health outcomes among university students. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(6):1-6. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Corinne Peek-Asa; Marizen Ramirez; Tracy Young; Yanyan Cao |
Related Documents
:
|
23409609 - Effect of a physical fitness program on physical self-concept and physical fitness elem... 23276069 - Accredited internship and postdoctoral programs for training in psychology: 2012. 23652719 - Evaluation of a mail-delivered, print-format, self-management program for persons with ... 22952259 - How much structuring is beneficial with regard to examination scores? a prospective stu... 21893009 - Gender bias in specialty preferences among danish medical students: a cross-sectional s... 23337049 - Weight gain in an eating disorders day program. 7602019 - Learning styles of nursing students: a 3-year cohort longitudinal study. 21368259 - A new predoctoral endodontic module: evaluating learning and effectiveness. 7620539 - Variation of electrolaryngographically derived closed quotient for trained and untraine... |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2012-10-3 |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Prehospital and disaster medicine Volume: - ISSN: 1049-023X ISO Abbreviation: Prehosp Disaster Med Publication Date: 2012 Oct |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2012-10-3 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 8918173 Medline TA: Prehosp Disaster Med Country: - |
Other Details:
|
Languages: ENG Pagination: 1-6 Citation Subset: - |
Affiliation:
|
University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center and the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa USA. |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
|
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Effects of respiratory mechanics on the capnogram phases: Importance of dynamic compliance of the re...
Next Document: Two-port Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy With Simple Retraction Technique.