Institutionally based health care workers' exposure to traumatogenic events: Systematic review of PTSD presentation

This review sought to identify published evidence for the presentation of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in institutionally based health care workers. The databases Medline, Psycinfo, PILOTS, CINAHL (R), EMBASE, and ISI Web of Science were searched in a systematic manner eliciting 9 quantitative studies. Presentation of PTSD among such workers appears comparable to data reported for emergency services staff. The authors discuss some of the theoretical debates underpinning the research as well as methodological weaknesses that temper the strength of conclusions drawn.