SIX YEARS AGO, on December 3, 1984, a toxic gas leak at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, released methyl isocyanate (MIC) and its reaction products. The number of persons "exposed" and "injured" remains uncertain.1 Official estimates from the Indian government place the dead at around 1800.2 Others estimate mortality to have been between 2500 and 5000 and the number of injured to have been up to 200 000.3,4

Abstract

Fourteen months after a sniper attack at an elementary school, level of exposure to that event remained the primary predictor of ongoing posttraumatic stress reactions in 100 schoolchildren who were followed up. Guilt feelings and knowing the child who was killed were associated with a greater number of symptoms. Grief reactions occurred independent of degree of exposure to the event. The authors discuss the public health implications of these longitudinal findings.

Abstract

Abstract

Disasters can have long term and damaging effects on survivors. In addition, those who are involved in disaster work, such as rescue and medical personnel, may become hidden victims. Different kinds of psychological assistance can be provided but this must be systematic and well organized. Professional help should supplement and facilitate community, personal and social resources rather than supplant them. This paper provides guidelines for providing such help.

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Abstract

The response of Medic 1 to two recent major incidents is described and the changes adopted as a result of these experiences and the broader implications for national disaster coordination are discussed.

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Abstract

Twenty-four girls who survived the sinking of the 'Jupiter' in October 1988 were screened 10 days after the accident on the Impact of Events Scale, the Birleson Depression Scale and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Scores at 10 days were associated strongly with help seeking over the following few months and were highly predictive of scores five months after the accident. Survivors were clearly differentiated from controls on all three measures. The battery seems useful in screening post-traumatic stress disorders in teenage children.

Abstract

Abstract

This paper describes the experiences of six people who received severe burns in the King's Cross Underground Station fire of 1987. They all developed post-traumatic stress disorder to varying levels of intensity and the problems of psychological intervention as they related to the patients' different mental defence mechanisms are outlined.