Critical incident exposure in South African emergency services personnel: prevalence and associated mental health issues
SOURCE: Emergency Medicine Journal
OUTPUT TYPE: Journal Article
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2006
TITLE AUTHOR(S): C.L.Ward, C.J.Lombard, N.Gwebushe
KEYWORDS: AMBULANCE SERVICES, EMERGENCY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH, WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE
Print: HSRC Library: shelf number 3703
HANDLE: 20.500.11910/6912
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/6912
OUTPUT TYPE: Journal Article
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2006
TITLE AUTHOR(S): C.L.Ward, C.J.Lombard, N.Gwebushe
KEYWORDS: AMBULANCE SERVICES, EMERGENCY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH, WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE
Print: HSRC Library: shelf number 3703
HANDLE: 20.500.11910/6912
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/6912
If you would like to obtain a copy of this Research Output, please contact Hanlie Baudin at researchoutputs@hsrc.ac.za.
Abstract
Exposure to traumatic stressors is potentially an integral part of the job for emergency services personnel. Traumatic stressors, or critical incidents, are those in which personnel are exposed to death or life threatening injury. In addition to the risk of mortality, serious mental health and behavioural problems are associated with such traumatic exposure. These include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. This study addresses the gaps in the literature by assessing prevalence of exposure to critical incidents and of mental health problems, in a representative sample of emergency services personnel in the developing world context of the Western Cape Province, South Africa.-
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