Abstract
BackgroundThe terror attack of July 14, 2016, in Nice, France, resulted in 86 deaths, including children, and several hundred wounded, with a major psychological impact on the population. Hospital staff had to cope with exceptional circumstances which made them vulnerable to detrimental effects on their own health.This paper describes the method that was selected for the survey entitled “ECHOS de Nice 14 Juillet” which aimed to assess the impact of the attack on the psychological, psycho-traumatic and somatic health condition of the Nice University and Lenval hospital staff who were directly or indirectly exposed to the attack, and also to describe the support and care facilities they were offered.MethodECHOS de Nice 14 juillet is an observational, cross-sectional, multicentre study focusing on all the hospital staff and students of both institutions, i.e. 10,100 persons in June 2017. A web-based questionnaire based on the model developed by Santé Publique France (IMPACTS and ESPA 13 novembre 2015) was adapted to the contexts of the healthcare professionals and students employed in these healthcare institutions in Nice and published on line from June 21 to October 30, 2017. The paper describes the tools that were used to meet the aims of the study, i.e. identification of exposure categories (‘civilian’ exposure for those present during the attack and/or ‘professional’ exposure); indicators of psychological impact (anxiety, depression, burnout, compassion fatigue, suicidal states, tobacco and alcohol use, self-medications), psycho-traumatic and somatic impact; professional and social impact. Lastly, awareness of availability and use of psychological support and care-follow-up facilities by professionals were investigated. Respondents could include extensive qualitative comments on the various themes explored in the questionnaire, with text analysis complementing that of quantitative data.DiscussionThe benefits and limitations of the selected methodology are discussed, in view of contributing useful information to help anticipate and manage health issues among hospital staff who have been victims of traumatic events.
Highlights
The terror attack of July 14, 2016, in Nice, France, resulted in 86 deaths, including children, and several hundred wounded, with a major psychological impact on the population
The objective of this paper is to describe the method that was selected for the ECHOS de Nice 14 juillet study which aimed to estimate the impact of the terror attack on the psychological, psycho-traumatic and somatic health of hospital staff and students at Nice University and Lenval hospitals who were directly or indirectly exposed to the July 14th attack, and to describe hospital professionals’ use and needs regarding support and care facilities
To our knowledge, few studies focusing on the repercussions on hospital staff of a terror attack have been published to date
Summary
The terror attack of July 14, 2016, in Nice, France, resulted in 86 deaths, including children, and several hundred wounded, with a major psychological impact on the population. Two healthcare institutions were involved in the immediate aftermath of the event and the long-term follow-up of victims: the Lenval paediatric hospital which was the first institution to admit both children and adult victims, and the Nice University hospital In such a context, healthcare professionals were faced with challenging circumstances, with a major influx of victims both living and deceased, including children, severe injuries [2], exceptional clinical and psychological management procedures for victims and their families, and the search for those missing [3]. Healthcare professionals were faced with challenging circumstances, with a major influx of victims both living and deceased, including children, severe injuries [2], exceptional clinical and psychological management procedures for victims and their families, and the search for those missing [3] This type of event places healthcare professionals from the institutions at risk of developing psychological and/ or somatic disorders related to the event. Repercussions may be felt in many areas of daily life, affecting professional, family and social functioning [5]
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