Assessment of Patients’ Profile at the Psychosocial Care Center (CAPS) after a Nightclub Disaster in the Region of Santa Maria, RS, Brazil

This chapter verify the profile of patients assisted in a Psychosocial Care Center after a disaster at a nightclub in the region of Santa Maria, RS. One of the major disasters that occurred in Brazil was the fire in a nightclub in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, in January 2013, which claimed the lives of 242 young people whose futures were cut tragically short and left countless others battling harrowing physical and psychological afflictions in its aftermath, stands as one of the deadliest such tragedies to strike the country in recent memory. Santa Maria disaster with previous events worldwide draw our attention to effective preventive measures, which can only be achieved through legislation and strict enforcement. Although many disaster plan optimizations could be implemented and refined following the Santa Maria disaster, we believe that legislation toward prevention is the single-most important lesson we have collectively learned. The event, known in the media as the “fire at the KISS nightclub”, caused an increase in the number of cases of various pathologies, mainly post-traumatic stress disorder.

This work is a descriptive cross-sectional epidemiological study in conjunction with a narrative review of the literature. The descriptors “psychosocial support”, “psychosocial aid”, “psychosocial response”, “mental healthcare” added to “disaster” were used.

After 2014, 763 records of care provided by the Acolhe-Saúde psychosocial care service were identified. The majority (67.3%) occurred in the first two months after the disaster (01/28/13-03/28/13). In Santa Maria's psychosocial care service, priority was given to listening and welcoming individuals. Only in a few cases was the patient referred to a psychiatrist for a more specific assessment, in which the need for prescription of psychotropic drugs was considered.

It is possible to track the post-disaster crisis situation, evaluate the health of impacted groups, and pinpoint issues brought on by a disaster of this magnitude by studying this demand.