 |
|
Disastrous fire left indelible mark on police in Göteborg
October 31, 2002It has now been four years since a disastrous fire shocked the city of Göteborg and Sweden. How did the police cope with the extreme stress and the workload in connection with the fire? A recently published research report from Karlstad University elucidates this and also levels criticism against the way the media covered the role of the police.
The 1998 disco fire in Hisingen in Göteborg was the worst fire in Sweden in modern times. Fully 63 young people died and more than 200 were injured. Barbro Renck, assistant professor of public health at Karlstad University, has studied the perceptions and experience of stress and mental duress among police officers involved a year and a half after the tragic fire. The research report levels severe criticism against the behavior of the media in connection with the disaster.
"It's tragic to see the way the media covered the police efforts. An entire police corps was wronged by the media's ignorance, and this shook their trust for a long period afterward. The media have a lot to learn in these contexts," says Barbro Renck.
She is referring to the negative picture of the police that was projected in the media, largely owing to the lack of experience among many journalists when it comes to covering crises. Among other things, people who were in a state of shock were asked to express criticism of police efforts to prevent young people from re-entering the burning building, efforts that probably saved a number of lives.
The research report clearly shows that no police officers were left untouched by the disaster. Some of them, foremost those who arrived at the site early and those who were in positions of leadership, still evinced heightened levels of stress a year and a half after the disaster.
The negative media reports represented only one of several stress factors, according to the report. There was considerable uncertainty about what to expect at the site as the police were answering the call, and no one could possibly have been mentally prepared. The powerful impact of what they went through and the scope of the disaster were two further stress factors, as were the threats and in some cases the violence perpetrated against the police during and after their rescue efforts. What the police perceived as the most demanding and stressful part of their work was their contact with relatives and friends of the injured and dead youths, both at the site of the fire and at the hospitals.
The study also shows that few police officers wanted to give up or lost their courage during their rescue efforts. "To be able to insulate yourself from your own feelings in such a dire situation was evidence of true professionalism among the police officers. The difficulty of their mission prevented them from thinking of human consequences," says Barbro Renck.
Her report also studies the support the police were afforded after the disaster. Not least peer support was experienced as being of great value. Most officers also found the planned crisis support to be extremely worthwhile.
"The police have learned a great deal for the future here. Among other things, they have realized the importance and value of well-planned crisis support," avers Barbro Renck.
Vetenskapsrådet (The Swedish Research Council)
Stress News and Current Stress Events RSSSpending time in the intensive care unit can traumatize kids
Children who spend time in the intensive care unit of a hospital can be traumatized by the experience even months after returning home. Dr. Janet Rennick from the Research Institute of The Montreal Children's Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre and her colleagues have developed the Children's Critical Illness Impact Scale to measure psychological distress in children following hospital discharge.
Yerkes researchers create animal model of chronic stress
In an effort to better understand how chronic stress affects the human body, researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, have created an animal model that shows how chronic stress affects behavior, physiology and reproduction.
Loss of sleep, even for a single night, increases inflammation in the body
Loss of sleep, even for a few short hours during the night, can prompt one's immune system to turn against healthy tissue and organs.
New study finds that add-on therapy improves depressive symptoms in bipolar disorder
Lingering depression is a serious and common problem in bipolar disorder, and does not resolve well with existing treatments.
Complex ocean behavior studied with 'artificial upwelling'
A team of scientists is studying the complex ocean upwelling process by mimicking nature - pumping cold, nutrient-rich water from deep within the Pacific Ocean and releasing it into surface waters near Hawaii that lack the nitrogen and phosphorous necessary to support high biological production.
A virtuous cycle: Safety in numbers for riders
It seems paradoxical but the more people ride bicycles on our city streets, the less likely they are to be injured in traffic accidents.
Substance found in fruits and vegetables reduces likelihood of the flu
Mice given quercetin, a naturally occurring substance found in fruits and vegetables, were less likely to contract the flu, according to a study published by The American Physiological Society. The study also found that stressful exercise increased the susceptibility of mice to the flu, but quercetin canceled out that negative effect.
Computed tomography provides anatomy -- we need ischemia!
Cardiac computed tomography has revolutionized cardiac imaging in recent years by providing exquisitely detailed cardiac anatomy, including, but not limited to, coronary anatomy.
The first autism disease genes
The autistic disorder was first described, more than sixty years ago, by Dr. Leo Kanner of the Johns Hopkins Hospital (USA), who created the new label 'early infantile autism'.
Sex differences seen in response to common antidepressant
Women with depression may be much more likely than men to get relief from a commonly used, inexpensive antidepressant drug, a new national study finds. But many members of both sexes may find that it helps ease their depression symptoms.
More Stress News Articles
 | Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen With first-chapter allusions to martial arts, "flow," "mind like water," and other concepts borrowed from the East (and usually mangled), you'd almost think this self-helper from David Allen should have been called Zen and the Art of Schedule Maintenance. Not quite. Yes, Getting Things Done offers a complete system for downloading all those free-floating gotta-do's clogging your brain into a... |
 | Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson Change can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. The message of Who Moved My Cheese? is that all can come to see it as a blessing, if they understand the nature of cheese and the role it plays in their lives. Who Moved My Cheese? is a parable that takes place in a maze. Four beings live in that maze: Sniff and Scurry are mice--nonanalytical and nonjudgmental, they just want... |
 | QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability in Work and in Life by John G. Miller QBQ! by John G. Miller is a motivational primer aimed at purging the "blame, complaining, and procrastination" from the workplace. Miller believes that one of the hallmarks of today's business culture is a lack of personal accountability; he prescribes the cure in this series of short stories and personal observations drawn from his years of experience running his organizational development firm.... |
 | The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, Fourth Edition by Edmund J. Bourne Since its first edition in 1990, The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook has sold more than 600,000 copies. Its engaging exercises and worksheets have helped millions of readers make real progress in overcoming problems with anxiety and phobic disorders. The Authoritative Guide to Self-Help Resources in Mental Health (Norcross, et al., 2003) gave the book its highest rating and praised it as "a highly... |
 | Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John J. Ratey A groundbreaking and fascinating investigation into the transformative effects of exercise on the brain, from the bestselling author and renowned psychiatrist John J. Ratey, MD.Did you know you can beat stress, lift your mood, fight memory loss, sharpen your intellect, and function better than ever simply by elevating your heart rate and breaking a sweat? The evidence is incontrovertible: Aerobic... |
 | Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by James L. Wilson This is an incredibly informative and reader-friendly book about a common debilitating medical condition that goes largely undiagnosed and untreated. ADRENAL FATIGUE: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome is a very empowering work cram-packed with vital information about a condition that very likely affects millions of... |
 | The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) by Martha Davis, Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman, Matthew McKay, Patrick Fanning Although the sheer size of this dense workbook might cause initial hyperventilation--280 full-size sheets of text--take heart (and a deep breath!): the many self-assessment tools and calming techniques presented in this fifth edition can help overcome anxiety and promote physical and emotional well-being. First introduced in 1980, the book received praise for presenting a comprehensive look at... |
 | Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, is perhaps the best-known proponent of using meditation to help patients deal with illness. (The somewhat confusing title is from a line in Zorba the Greek in which the title character refers to the ups and downs of family life as "the full catastrophe.") But this book is also a terrific... |
 | The Miracle Ball Method: Relieve Your Pain, Reshape Your Body, Reduce Your Stress [2 Miracle Balls Included] by Elaine Petrone Take two-they're small. And they perform miracles. Suffering a career-ending, potentially crippling injury to her back and right leg, a young dancer named Elaine Petrone tried everyone from orthopedists to yogis to turn her pain and prognosis around. Nothing worked-until she healed herself through a unique program of therapy and exercise based around the use of two small, squishy balls. From... |
 | Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Statics w/CD-ROM by Ferdinand P. Beer, Jr., E. Russell Johnston, Elliot R. Eisenberg, David Mazurek The new Eighth Edition of Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Statics marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Beer/Johnston series. Continuing in the spirit of its successful previous editions, the Eighth Edition provides conceptually accurate and thorough coverage together with a significant addition of new problems, including biomechanics problems, and the most extensive media resources available. ... |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |