Reports Of Serious Mental Illnesses Increase Among Gulf Coast Residents Two Years After Hurricane Katrina, Survey Finds

Main Category: Mental Health
Also Included In: Aid / Disasters;  Anxiety / Stress;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 02 Nov 2007 - 6:00 PDT

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Fourteen percent of Gulf Coast residents reported serious mental illnesses two years after Hurricane Katrina, compared with 10.9% six months after the 2005 storm hit the area, according to a Harvard University survey, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Ronald Kessler, a health care policy professor at Harvard, on Wednesday presented the study at a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Disaster Recovery Subcommittee hearing. For the survey, researchers conducted follow-up interviews with 800 of the 1,000 area residents who were first interviewed six months after Katrina.

According to Kessler, the percentage of residents reporting suicidal tendencies increased from 2.8% six months after the hurricane to 6.4% as residents' initial optimism for a quick recovery faded. The percentage of serious mental illnesses in the New Orleans area increased slightly from 16.5% six months after the hurricane to 16.9%, Kessler said. However, Kessler could not provide an explanation for why the rates did not significantly increase in an area where people were most affected by the hurricane, the Times-Picayune reports.

Anthony Speier, director of disaster mental health operations at the Louisiana Office of Mental Health, said Kessler's report required further analysis, but he speculated that people with mental health problems who were displaced by Katrina would be more likely to experience difficulty returning to the area because they generally have fewer resources and coping skills to deal with recovery efforts.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who led the subcommittee hearing, said the mental health crisis in the Gulf Coast area has become "one of the most critical issues facing the recovery." She noted that there are 22 practicing psychiatrists in New Orleans, compared with 196 before Katrina. A survey of 1,638 children in grades four through 12 found that 54% reported serious mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder, Landrieu said. In addition, waiting times for mental health care also have increased from days to months, according to Landrieu (Alpert, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 11/1).

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