Seniors who experienced the Lac-Mégantic train derailment tragedy: what are the consequences on physical and mental health?
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2019
- handle: 10670/1.0brxh9
- Maltais Danielle, Tremblay Anne-Julie, Labra Oscar, Fortin Geneviève, Généreux Mélissa, Roy Mathieu et Lansard Anne-Lise. (2019). Seniors who experienced the Lac-Mégantic train derailment tragedy: what are the consequences on physical and mental health? Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine, 5, p. 1-8.
Ce document est lié à :
https://constellation.uqac.ca/id/eprint/5194/
Ce document est lié à :
http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1177/2333721419846191
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Mots-clés
Service social et travail social Gériatrie-gérontologie seniors posttraumatic stress technological disaster train derailment postdisaster psychological health personnes agées stress post-traumatique santé psychologique catastrophe technologique déraillement de trainSujets proches
Mental hygiene Emotional health Mental physiology and hygieneCiter ce document
Danielle Maltais et al., « Seniors who experienced the Lac-Mégantic train derailment tragedy: what are the consequences on physical and mental health? », Constellation - Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, ID : 10670/1.0brxh9
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Résumé
In July 2013, a train derailment caused the death of 47 people and destroyed the downtown area in the city of Lac-Mégantic (Quebec, Canada). This tragedy had several impacts on this small community. Method: Three years after this disaster, we used a representative population-based survey conducted among 800 adults (including 265 seniors aged 65 or above) to assess the physical and mental health of seniors. Results: Several differences were observed in seniors’ physical and mental health based on their level of exposure to the tragedy.Nearly half of seniors highly exposed to the train derailment (41.7%) believe that their health has deteriorated in the past 3 years. The majority of seniors highly exposed to the train derailment (68.7%) also show symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorders. Seniors highly or moderately exposed to the tragedy were also more likely to have found positive changes in their personal and social life as compared with nonexposed seniors. Discussion: A technological disaster such as a train derailment still had negative impacts on seniors’ physical and mental health 3 years later. Conclusion: Public health authorities must tailor prevention and promotion programs to restore health and well-being in this population.