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About 500,000 survivors of Hurricane Katrina and relief workers
might need mental health services, according to an HHS estimate,
the AP/Boston
Globe reports (Mabin, AP/Boston Globe, 12/7).
With the lack of medical services available in the region and
the slow pace of rebuilding, some experts think the psychological
toll will continue to grow, according to the Washington
Post. Calls to a national suicide-prevention hotline
increased from the typical 100 to 150 daily to more than 900
daily immediately following Katrina. Calls average about 210
a day now, Charles Curie, administrator of the Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said. A
clinical survey by CDC finds
that 45% of residents in Orleans and Jefferson parishes were
experiencing "significant distress or dysfunction" and
25% had even "higher degree[s] of dysfunction." The
survey also notes that about 50% of residents responding to the
survey felt isolated and 25% thought at least one family member
needed counseling (Connolly, Washington Post,
12/7). Irwin Redlener, director of the National
Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia
University Mailman School of Public Health, said that between
7% and 12% of people directly affected after other disasters
eventually experience post traumatic stress disorder, adding
that because Katrina survivors number in the hundreds of thousands,
the total number affected could be huge (Borenstein/Adams, Knight
Ridder/Akron Beacon Journal, 12/7). HHS on
Wednesday launched a public service campaign to encourage people
with psychological issues related to the hurricane to look for
help, USA Today reports. Confidential help lines will
assist callers in obtaining information and getting referrals
to local services (USA Today, 12/7). As part of the
campaign, public service announcements advertising the help lines
will go out to 11,000 media outlets (Washington Post,
12/7). |
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