Community mental health status six months after the Sewol ferry disaster in Ansan, Korea.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The disaster of the Sewol ferry that sank at sea off Korea's southern coast of the Yellow Sea on April 16, 2014 was a tragedy that brought grief and despair to the whole country. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mental health effects of this disaster on the community of Ansan, where most victims and survivors resided.

Methods

The self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted 4 to 6 months after the accident using the Korean Community Health Survey system, an annual nationwide cross-sectional survey. Subjects were 7,076 adults (≥19 years) living in two victimized communities in Ansan, four control communities from Gyeonggi-do, Jindo and Haenam near the accident site. Depression, stress, somatic symptoms, anxiety, and suicidal ideation were measured

SUBMITTER: Yang HJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4835706 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature