Yoav Yehezkelli, MD, Tsvika Dushnitsky, MD and Ariel Hourvitz, MD
Ionizing radiation can cause acute as well as chronic and late illnesses, and is a well-known health hazard. Its use by terrorists and nations in the form of a non-conventional weapon is no longer impossible. The release of radioactive materials with the accompanying contamination and radiation has the potential of causing serious medical problems. In analyzing the different radiologic terrorism scenarios, a scheme is proposed for the triage and evacuation of injured, contaminated and non-contaminated casualties from the scene itself as well as from the periphery. Knowledge, plans and drills will lessen the impact of those potential attacks and prepare us to respond to such events.
Dorith Shaham, MD, Tamar Sella, MD, Arnon Makori, MD, Liat Appelbaum, MD, Avraham I. Rivkind, MD and Jacob Bar Ziv, MD
Adi Yagur, MD, Alexander Grinshpoon, MD and Alexander Ponizovsky, MD, PhD
Background: The threat to the individual’s physical integrity and well-being as well as to those of significant others, the disruption of normal patterns of life, and property losses make wartime a highly stressful condition.
Objectives: To assess the level of psychological distress in primary care attenders in a district of Jerusalem (Gilo) that experienced long-term exposure to gunfire.
Methods: A self-administered questionnaire exploring emotional distress (anxiety and depression symptoms), fire exposure, patterns of help-seeking behavior, and prescription of sedative or hypnotic drugs was administered to a sample of 125 consecutive attenders to a general practitioner during a 10 week period in the autumn of 2001. Eighty-four attenders residing in Gilo were compared with 41 attenders residing in neighborhoods that had not been under fire. T-tests and Mann-Whitney two-sample tests were used to determine statistical significance of differences.
Results: The mean distress score was significantly higher among the Gilo residents than among their counterparts in other neighborhoods (1.1 ± 0.8 vs. 0.8 ± 0.5, t = 1.73, P <0.01); 15.5% of the former reported probable clinically significant distress. Emotional distress was associated with periods of intensive gunfire exposure, psychological care-seeking behavior, and the prescription of sedative or hypnotic drugs. No significant differences in distress levels were found between those living in zones of Gilo that were at differential gunfire risk, nor between those whose houses and cars were or were not damaged.
Conclusions: War-related life events would seem to be associated with elevated emotional distress. A motivated primary care physician could easily and reliably ascertain the attenders’ psychological status and identify those requiring psychological support. These identification and intervention stages are facilitated if the specialized services are community-based.