Impact of Terrorist Attacks on the Profile of Consultants at the Outpatient Department of Razi Hospital

Abstract

Introduction

A trauma is an uncommon experience of violence in which the physical and psychological integrity of an individual or group has been threatened. Intentional violence in general and terrorist attacks in particular are a perfect example of this. It turns out that during the year 2015 Tunisia was shaken by a series of terrorist attacks as sudden as violent. What impact would these actions have on the profile of consultants at the Razi hospital?

Methods

A retrospective and descriptive study of the consultants between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015, while determining the socio-demographic, clinical and therapeutic profile of the consultants for the first time at the outpatient clinic of the Razi psychiatric hospital, and indicating the different changes during the month following each attack; Bardo 18 March, Sousse 26 June and Mohamed V 24 November.

Results

Our study pointed to an increase in the number of consultants at the hospital (31%) and outpatient (128%) levels during the year 2015, without increasing the number of consultants New consultants. The new consultants are younger with a strengthening of the female predominance (56.8). In the months following the attacks from the same period of the previous year, we found that diagnoses of acute and post-traumatic stress disorders (151%) and (93%) increased in percentage.

Conclusion

The impact of terrorist attacks is harmful to people directly exposed but also to vulnerable people. It imposes the necessity of a preventive activity involving multidisciplinary interventions in order to develop the concept of resilience.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.