A study on survivors of the World Trade Center building attack observes the covariance of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with lower-respiratory illnesses (LRS). The study aims to identify methods to manage and treat the disorders. Using the World Trade Center Health Registry, semi-structured interviews were conducted on 100 eligible enrollees, and data were analyzed using a thematic analysis coding protocol.
The characteristics of the participants revealed that an overwhelming majority of them reported working on rescue/recovery efforts during the 9/11 attacks and 62% have asthma. During the interviews, 38% of individuals reported a significant relationship between PTSD and LRS while 62% observed no relationship. Over half of the participants feel that they have control over their symptoms, but this is mainly observed in the respondents that reported a relationship between PTSD and LRS.
Almost all participants felt that these comorbidities adversely affected many aspects of their daily living, limiting their ability to function and participate in everyday activities. Many participants mentioned they received high-quality physical and mental care at one of the World Trade Center Health Program sites, however, barriers to mental health care access were also noted among some participants, resulting in unhealthy coping strategies.
The conclusions suggest that complex disasters require unique efforts for care and symptom control since disaster survivors face multiple comorbidities as a result, a multi-disciplinary approach should involve experts in healthcare, disasters, and public health to plan prevention and response strategies to mitigate the negative effect of disasters on the survivors.
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