Kartavya J. Vyas|Eileen Delaney|Jennifer Webb-Murphy|Scott L. Johnston
Psychological Impact of Deploying in Support of the U.S. Response to Ebola: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Past Outbreaks
University of California, Los Angeles
objective examine potential psychological impact deploying support us response ebola west africa systematic review metaanalysis methods peerreviewed articles published january 2000 december 2014 identified using pubmed psycinfo web science thirtytwo studies involving 26869 persons included systematic review 13 studies involving 7785 persons included metaanalysis pooled standardized mean differences smd 95 confidence intervals ci calculated results reflecting sociodemographics military younger single living family fewer years work experience lower education lower income increased risk psychological distress alcoholdrug misuse posttraumatic stress disorder ptsd depression andor anxiety result perceived risk infection effect sizes posttraumatic stress disorder depressive anxiety symptoms considered small smd 012 95 ci 023 047 moderate smd 040 95 ci 024051 small smd 008 95 ci 009 025 respectively however effect size depressive symptoms statistically significant conclusions deployed service members may return clinically significant problems notable depression delivering resilience training fostering altruistic acceptance may protect service members developing mental health disorders