Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #110513

Brenda F. Seals, PhD, MPH¹, Alice Hausman, PhD², Jay Segal, PhD³, and Tamar Klaiman². (1) MPH Program, Practice and Research Coordinator, Department of Public Health, Temple University, 301-F Vivacqua Hall, 1700 N Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122, (215) 204-6780, brenda.seals@temple.edu, (2) Temple University, Public Health Department, Vivacqua Hall, Room 304, Philadelphia, PA 19122, (3) Public Health Department, Temple University, 304 Vivacqua Hall, P.O. Box 2843, 1700 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122

BACKGROUND: Stressful life events, such as experiencing natural disasters or terrorist tragedies, are well documented as causes of distress. Yet, recent public opinion studies on terrorism and emergency preparedness have not studied how public preparations for an emergency or concerns about terrorist events correlates with psychological distress? This study describes how attitudes toward emergency events and preparedness efforts relate to psychological distress. METHODS: A sample of 1595 individuals completed the 2004 Temple University Quality of Life survey, a cross-sectional, random-digit dialed (RDD) study of Pennsylvania adults. Survey items assessed if the respondent knew someone exposed to disasters or terrorist events, preparedness efforts, reactions to possible terrorist events, attitudes towards preparedness, confidence in personal and government preparedness plans. An 18-item scale measured psychological distress with subscales for distress symptomology and distress. Those above a set cut-point were compared to those below. RESULTS: Prevalence estimates for subscales were similar to other population-based studies including RDD samples. Knowing someone who was killed or injured in the September 11, 2001 attacks OR=2.081 (CI=1.173, 3.694), perceived preparedness OR=.960 (CI=.930, .991), confidence in government response OR=.616 (CI=.467, .813), perceived personal safety OR=.832 (CI=.740, .935), and education OR=.728 (CI=.634, .837) were net predictors of distress symptomology. Similar relationships were found with distress except that knowing someone who was killed or injured in the 2001 terrorist attacks was not significant. CONCLUSION: Public health efforts to improve preparedness and instill confidence are important and may alleviate psychological distress. Longitudinal, diagnostic research needs to further investigate these complex relationships.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to understand measures of mental health in the general population.
• Participants will be able to describe how perceptions of terrorism and preparedness influence mental health.
• Participants will be able to describe features of a population based random sample survey.

Keywords: Epidemiology, Emergency

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation