Type of Submission
Poster
Keywords
Natural disasters, PTSD, somatic symptoms, pediatrics
Abstract
Between 1994 and 2013, the International Disaster Database recorded 6,873 natural disasters worldwide, which claimed 1.35 million lives or almost 68,000 lives on average each year. In addition, an average of 218 million people were affected by natural disasters per year during this 20-year period (Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, 2015). All disasters have the potential to affect psychological health (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2016) and children are especially vulnerable. The purpose of this review of literature was to answer the question, “How do children and adolescents who have survived a form of severe natural disaster experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?” The IOWA Model of Evidence-Based Practice to Promote Quality of Care was utilized as the framework for this review of literature (Titler et al., 2001). A search was conducted using CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Academic Search Complete, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE with Full Text, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsycINFO, and SocINDEX with Full Text. Search terms used were “Natural Disasters,” “Children OR Adolescents,” “PTSD,” “Somatic Symptoms,” and “Psychological AND Stress,” resulting in the final selection of ten relevant articles for review. This included 6 correlational and 4 descriptive studies, all Level of Evidence 6. Based on the results of the review, children and adolescents experience PTSD related to natural disasters in a myriad of ways, including somatic symptoms, sleep disturbances, and psychological/emotional disorders such as depression and anxiety. It is vital that healthcare professionals be aware of these effects, as well as short versus long-term implications for children and adolescents post-natural disaster.
Campus Venue
Stevens Student Center Lobby
Location
Cedarville, OH
Start Date
4-11-2018 11:00 AM
End Date
4-11-2018 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Pediatric Experiences of PTSD Related to Natural Disasters
Cedarville, OH
Between 1994 and 2013, the International Disaster Database recorded 6,873 natural disasters worldwide, which claimed 1.35 million lives or almost 68,000 lives on average each year. In addition, an average of 218 million people were affected by natural disasters per year during this 20-year period (Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, 2015). All disasters have the potential to affect psychological health (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2016) and children are especially vulnerable. The purpose of this review of literature was to answer the question, “How do children and adolescents who have survived a form of severe natural disaster experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?” The IOWA Model of Evidence-Based Practice to Promote Quality of Care was utilized as the framework for this review of literature (Titler et al., 2001). A search was conducted using CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Academic Search Complete, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE with Full Text, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsycINFO, and SocINDEX with Full Text. Search terms used were “Natural Disasters,” “Children OR Adolescents,” “PTSD,” “Somatic Symptoms,” and “Psychological AND Stress,” resulting in the final selection of ten relevant articles for review. This included 6 correlational and 4 descriptive studies, all Level of Evidence 6. Based on the results of the review, children and adolescents experience PTSD related to natural disasters in a myriad of ways, including somatic symptoms, sleep disturbances, and psychological/emotional disorders such as depression and anxiety. It is vital that healthcare professionals be aware of these effects, as well as short versus long-term implications for children and adolescents post-natural disaster.
