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Hospital personnel reactions to Haiti's earthquake: a preliminary matching study.

To the Editor: On January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake. The results of the earthquake were severe, as about 230,000 people were killed and more than 300,000 were injured.1 The Israeli aid delegation arrived in Haiti on January 15, 2010, and established an advanced field hospital. The aid delegation medical wing consisted of 40 physicians and 24 nurses.2 During a 2-week period, they treated 1,110 patients, conducted 319 successful surgeries of various levels, and delivered 16 births.3 The impact of large-scale natural disasters on hospital personnel is unknown. Most studies on hospital personnel have been conducted in the context of armed conflict, war, or terror.4,5 Studies have shown that exposure to mutilated dead bodies of victims of violent death is a significant predictor of posttraumatic stress symptoms among rescue personnel.6 Moreover, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are also associated with functional decline among physicians.7 The purpose of this preliminary study was to survey the reactions of hospital personnel to the sights in Haiti. On the basis of previous research,5–7 we hypothesized that the hospital personnel who were in Haiti would report a higher level of posttraumatic stress symptoms, lower life satisfaction, lower perceived coping, and lower self-rated health in comparison to the matched group of hospital personnel who were not in Haiti.