Wunsch-Hitzig Robin, Plapinger Jane, Draper John, del Campo Elsie
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene of the City of New York, NY 10013, USA.
J Urban Health. 2002 Sep;79(3):417-28. doi: 10.1093/jurban/79.3.417.
Although unprepared for a disaster of the magnitude of September 11th, New York City's mental health system responded immediately. Within weeks, Project Liberty, a recovery program funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), was in operation. The program provides free education, outreach, and crisis counseling services for those affected by the disaster and its aftermath. LifeNet, a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week mental health information and referral hotline, is a key component of Project Liberty. In this article, we describe the operation of LifeNet and examine the volume of calls to the hotline during the 6 months following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. We describe the demographics of the callers and the kinds of disaster-related mental health problems that callers presented. The data indicate a clear pattern of increasing calls from October through March for all demographic subgroups except seniors. Callers complaining of symptoms of posttraumatic stress and symptoms of anxiety, panic, and phobia increased over time. Bereavement-related calls increased as well. The number of callers who reported symptoms of depression and substance abuse/dependence did not show as clear-cut an increase over time. We looked at the volume of LifeNet calls in relation to the Project Liberty media campaign and suggest that the campaign has had a positive effect on call volume and that its impact is likely to continue over time.
尽管纽约市的心理健康系统对“9·11”这样规模的灾难毫无准备，但它迅速做出了反应。在数周内，由联邦紧急事务管理局（FEMA）资助的一项恢复计划“自由计划”开始运作。该计划为受灾难及其后果影响的人们提供免费教育、外展服务和危机咨询服务。“生命网”是一个每周7天、每天24小时提供心理健康信息和转介服务的热线，它是“自由计划”的一个关键组成部分。在本文中，我们描述了“生命网”的运作情况，并研究了世贸中心遭受恐怖袭击后的6个月里该热线的来电数量。我们描述了来电者的人口统计学特征以及来电者所呈现的与灾难相关的心理健康问题类型。数据表明，除老年人外，所有人口亚组从10月到3月的来电数量都呈现出明显的增加趋势。抱怨创伤后应激症状以及焦虑、恐慌和恐惧症症状的来电者数量随时间增加。与丧亲相关的来电也有所增加。报告有抑郁症状和药物滥用/依赖症状的来电者数量并没有随着时间呈现出如此明显的增加。我们研究了与“自由计划”媒体宣传活动相关的“生命网”来电数量，并表明该宣传活动对来电数量产生了积极影响，而且其影响可能会随着时间持续下去。
