engleski

Systematic review and meta-analysis of long-term psychosocial effects of disasters

Background: While immediate effects of disasters on mental health are well documented, less is known about long-term effects on psychosocial functioning of individuals and communities This knowledge is critical from the policy, planning and interventions perspectives. Methods: Systematic literature review and meta- analysis of psychosocial effects of disasters was performed. Long-term was any period longer than 6 months. Several major databases were searched for primary studies produced between 1980 and 2013, yielding 1, 036 documents. The eligible studies for meta-analysis used cross-sectional or prospective research designs. Results: The number of studies enabled meta- analysis of only four outcomes: Odds for prevalence of PTSD diagnoses were 4:1 and for depression diagnoses 5:1 about 10 years post-disaster. Post- traumatic stress symptoms, depression symptoms and general mental health are worse at both 12 months and 4 to 7 years post-disaster. Conclusions: Individuals exposed to disasters have worse long-term mental health outcomes compared to the non-affected or to the pre- disaster period. There is a striking lack of studies using other indicators of psychosocial functioning, especially at the community level, and an urgent need for better quality studies of long-term effects of disasters.

Disasters ; psychological effects ; long-term effects ; meta-analysis

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