Abstract

ALMEIDA, Maiara Luvizon Biancon de. Prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder in rescue workers: a systematic review. Psic., Saúde & Doenças [online]. 2012, vol.13, n.2, pp.220-237. ISSN 1645-0086.

This review aims to identify the prevalence of PTSD in professionals who work in rescue crews, and also to detect the related variables. From indexers established, the databases of MEDLINE via Pubmed, PsycINFO, EBSCO, LILACS and SciELO were consulted between December 2011 and February 2012, restricting to articles in Portuguese, English and Spanish, published between 2002 to 2012. The procedures for systematic search and selection resulted in the inclusion of 24 articles. The studies differed in delineation, instruments, and criteria for diagnosis and analysis. The characteristics found associated with PTSD were divided into individual factors, morbidity and contextual factors. The prevalence of psychopathology varied between 3% and 38.5%. The analysis results indicate that the working conditions of professionals involved in urgency, emergency and disaster situations are associated with PTSD, not only in organizational aspects, but also in characteristics of the traumatic event experienced on the occupational context. The individual characteristics, particularly aspects of cognitive processing, also corroborate with this outcome.

Keywords : Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; rescue workers; occupational health; disasters.

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