Mental illness rates climb as relief efforts drag

From Science Daily:

According to the most comprehensive survey of people affected by Hurricane Katrina … the percentage of pre-hurricane residents of the affected areas in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi who have mental disorders has increased significantly compared to the situation five to eight months after the hurricane. These findings counter a more typical pattern from previous disasters where prevalence of mental disorders decreases as time passes.

… “It is important for mental health policy planners to have accurate information about the size of the problem they are trying to address among survivors of Hurricane Katrina,” says Ronald Kessler, Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School and director of the study.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 1st, 2007 at 7:57 am and is filed under depression, mental health, research news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post