Post-earthquake media exposure and mental health in Miami's Little Haiti community

Background: Indirect exposure to traumatic experiences through visual imagery may be associated with worse psychological health. In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti (January 12 2010), Haitians throughout the global diaspora were exposed to such imagery via television and the internet for months post-disaster. Our study examined whether this exposure was associated with an increased risk of depression and PTSD among Haitians in Little Haiti, Miami. Methods: Community Health Workers (CHWs) enrolled Haitian men and women 18 and older living in Little Haiti to complete a questionnaire about their experiences post-earthquake. Cross-sectional measurements of PTSD and depressive symptomology were collected with culturally tailored PCL-C and CES-D scales that have been validated in population-based studies. Results: Exposure to disturbing images of Haiti post-earthquake was a significant predictor of PTSD symptoms (F=28.9, p<0.001) and depression (F=10.3, p<0.01) after adjusting for relevant variables. Report of PTSD symptoms was also associated with gender, age, and having family/friends injured. Depression was associated with age, significant life events, and having family/friends injured in the earthquake. Conclusion: These data illustrate the report of psychological symptoms do not require physical proximity to the disaster, but rather a psychosocial connection and visual imagery of the disaster and its aftermath. Increasing exposure to such imagery was linearly related to increased report of PTSD and depressive symptoms. Mental health resources should be made available not only to those at ground zero of a disaster, but also throughout the diaspora. With increasing globalization, a disaster may have far reaching health effects.