Background. A serious life event is likely to shape attributions relating to symptoms experienced afterwards. While they may play an important role in prognosis and seeking care, such perceptions have hardly been studied among survivors of a disaster.

Objective. To investigate the association between self-reported health problems that have been attributed to an extreme life event and the symptoms presented to GPs.

Abstract   Although most victims of disasters, terrorism, or other shocking events recover on their own, a sizable amount of these victims develops long-term disaster-related problems. These victims should receive timely and appro-priate psychosocial help. This article describes the development of guidelines on psychosocial interventions during the first 6 weeks after a major incident. Scientific literature, expert opinions, and consensus among relevant parties in the clinical field were used to formulate the recommendations.

Abstract

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Prolonged fatigue has recently attracted attention in occupational (mental) health research since it may lead to sickness absenteeism and work disability. To date, little is known about the role of psychosocial work characteristics in the aetiology of fatigue. In this study we examined prospectively a wide range of psychosocial work characteristics as possible risk factors for the onset of fatigue and psychological distress in the working population.

METHODS: