Postdisaster Morbidity of the Bereaved

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Abstract
Immediately following a rail disaster in Sydney, Australia, on Jan. 18, 1977, in which 83 people were killed, an attempt was made to organize a preventive psychiatry outreach program for the relatives of the bereaved and the survivors. Bereavement counseling was offered to all families considered to be at risk for development of postbereavement morbidity. A follow-up study was performed 15-18 mo. later to assess the level of functioning of the bereaved relatives. The next of kin of 36 (43% of the total number killed) were interviewed and filled in questionnaires (general health, Goldberg''s General Health Questionnaire, loss and social support). They included 15 widows, 9 widowers, 11 mothers and 8 fathers who had lost children. The trends were for the bereaved spouses do to better than bereaved parents; the widowers to do better than the widows; those with a supportive network to do better than those without one; those who saw the body to do better than those who did not; and, in addition, there was a tendency for those who had bereavement counseling to do better than those who had no such intervention. Examples are given of several types of outcome and conclusions are drawn about the results and the difficulties of implementing and evaluating such a program.

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