International journal of emergency mental health
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Mar 2015
Law Enforcement Officers' Involvement Level in Hurricane Katrina and Alcohol Use.
The purpose of this work is to examine the relationship between alcohol use and level of involvement during Hurricane Katrina among law enforcement officers, and to investigate whether marital status or previous military training offer resilience against negative outcomes. Officers in the immediate New Orleans geographic area completed surveys that assessed their involvement in Hurricane Katrina and alcohol use (Alcohol Use and Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score). Negative binomial regression models were used to analyze level of hazardous alcohol use; interactions were tested to examine protective influences of marriage and prior military training (controlling for age and gender). ⋯ Contrary to original hypotheses, marital status and military training were not protective against alcohol use (p>0.05). These results illustrate an association between law enforcement officers' heavy involvement during Hurricane Katrina and greater levels of hazardous alcohol use when compared to officers with low or moderate involvement. This has important treatment implications for those with high involvement in disasters as they may require targeted interventions to overcome the stress of such experiences.
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2014
ReviewWorkplace violence in emergency department and its effects on emergency staff.
Workplace violence (WPV) is a growing problem for healthcare providers, particularly for those in the Emergency department (ED), with its increasing frequency and severity. Characteristics of WPV are similar in different parts of the World with different sociocultural and economic status. As this problem remains unsolved, its unwanted effects on mental and physical health of staff become more problematic. ⋯ When the reasons of WPV are investigated; lack of preventive policies, educational inadequacy, unwillingness to report assaults as a result of a consideration of violence as a routine by the staff and unmet expectations of patients and their family may be listed. In the short-term, increasing the number of security personnel, flagging the names of the patients with a potential of aggression in the computer system and reducing length of stay in the ED are measures to implement immediately. In the long-term, governments must focus on this subject and develop necessary policies including educational programmes in order to reduce WP, before it is too late for another ED worker.
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2014
Mai-Mai militia and sexual violence in Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This article sets the reasons for the brutal violence against women. It focuses on three field sites providing insight into Mai-Mai motivations and their attitudes toward sexual violence. ⋯ The sexual violence is so severe in the DRC that some have described rape in the country as the worst in the world. Sexual violence has long lasting consequences and far-reaching impacts on individual survivors, their families, and their communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2013
Children of National Guard troops: a pilot study of deployment, patriotism, and media coverage.
This exploratory pilot study examined the psychosocial effects of the war in Iraq, patriotism, and attention to war-related media coverage in the children of National Guard troops across phases of parental deployment--pre deployment, during deployment, and post deployment. Participants included 11 children, ages 8 to 18 years. Data collected in each deployment phase included demographics, the Behavior Assessment System for Children, (Second Edition, BASC-2), patriotism (national identity, uncritical patriotism, and constructive patriotism), and attention to war-related media coverage. ⋯ Greater attention to war-related media coverage correlated with uncritical patriotism, and attention to internet coverage correlated with constructive patriotism. Attention to media coverage was linked to greater emotional and behavioral problems and was negatively correlated with personal adjustment. The results of this pilot study identified relationships of both patriotism and attention to media coverage with children's emotional and behavioral status and personal adjustment suggesting areas for future investigation.
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Previous research suggests that there is an elevated risk of suicide among workers within law enforcement occupations. The present study examined the proportionate mortality for suicide in law enforcement in comparison to the US working population during 1999, 2003-2004, and 2007, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health National Occupational Mortality Surveillance data. We analyzed data for all law enforcement occupations and focused on two specific law enforcement occupational categories-detectives/criminal investigators/ police and corrections officers. ⋯ A significantly high (PMR = 244, p < 0.01, 95% CI = 147-380) ratio was found among Hispanic males in the law enforcement combined category, and a similarly high PMR was found among Hispanic detectives/criminal investigators/police (PMR = 388, p < 0.01, 95% CI = 168-765). There were small numbers of deaths among female and African American officers. The results included significantly increased risk for suicide among detectives/criminal investigators/police and corrections officers, which suggests that additional study could provide better data to inform us for preventive action.