Health Care Providers-Psychiatric Profile of Carers After a Hiatus of Ten Years of a Devastating Pakistan Earthquake

On 8th October 2005 an Earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck Azad Jammu and Kashmir and the Northern Areas of Pakistan. The psychosocial consequences were in no way less than the massive loss of lives and property and the physical injuries and maladies that followed the disaster. A large number of health carers from across the country and around the world converged to undertake this massive health care operation. After the initial few weeks, reports of psychological symptoms amongst health professionals, volunteers and rescue workers started to surface. The psychiatric morbidity seen amongst the carers and the disaster rescue workers is termed as “Secondary Trauma” and has been reported earlier in rescue workers of Tsunami, Bam and 11 September 2001 bombings There are also reports of long-term, severe post-traumatic stress effects upon community residents involved in rescue work as secondary victims after exposure to disaster[1]. Though rescue and emergency personnel Volume 1 Issue 3 2017