Citation

Gigantesco A, D'Argenio P, Cofini V, Mancini C, Minardi V. Disaster Med. Public Health Prep. 2015; 10(1): 11-15.

Affiliation

1Italian National Institute of Health,Center of Epidemiology,Surveillance and Health Promotion,Rome,Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Publisher Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1017/dmp.2015.91

PMID

26193951

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: A recent article reported a reduction in the suicide rate in the inhabitants of L'Aquila (Italy) in 2009, when on the night of April 6, a devastating earthquake struck the city. The potential implications of the role of resilience in the aftermath of natural disasters, together with the limitations of existing evidence on this topic, suggest a need for more research. We aimed to retrospectively investigate the impact of the L'Aquila earthquake on a standardized self-reported measure of health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

METHODS: HRQoL data were collected through 2 separate cross-sectional surveys conducted during 2008 and 2010, before and after the earthquake that occurred in 2009, on 2 random samples of adults living in L'Aquila.

RESULTS: The data seemed to suggest no decrease in the inhabitants' HRQoL level after the disaster, which may suggest the role of resilience in supporting survivors' HRQoL. The findings were also consistent with previous observations of a reduction in the suicide rate in the same inhabitants after the earthquake.

CONCLUSIONS: After a natural disaster, people likely activate personal resources and protective social factors that result in better subjective outcomes. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;0:1-5).

Language: en