Journal international sur la santé mentale d'urgence et la résilience humaine

Abstrait

Acute Stress among Healthcare Staff during a Public Health Emergency in M�©xico

Francisco Morales Carmona, Diana Pimentel Nieto, Jorge Carreño Meléndez and Alejandra Watty Martínez

The United Nations through the World Health Organization has shown that crises or disasters can have a profound impact on the population’s physical and mental health(World Health Organization, 2003). In 2009 a new strain of the human influenza virus (AH1N1) appeared and reached pandemic levels, initiating an epidemiological alert in Mexico in April of the same year. Its impact was significant because it was a new subtype of the virus, especially for the severity of the symptoms and number of deaths, which required taking security, hygiene and social isolation measures to reduce the risk of contagion. In critical periods, clear, direct, objective and timely information is the most important preventive measure. However, when the available information is inadequate, depressive or anxious emotional reactions and distress may be observed in risk behaviours among the general population. Straus and collaborators (2004) suggested that during an outbreak, limited availability of information about the disease can have a negative impact on healthcare staff. In addition, Maunder (2004) highlights the importance of effective risk communication. In the case of healthcare providers, when they are overwhelmed by the emergency, the capacity and quality of the service provided may be affected.