Social and psychological impacts of the accident at the Chernobyl NPP on exposed populations

The Chernobyl accident affected millions of people, caused severe health and environmental consequences and continuing upheavals in the life style of the affected population. In addition to impacts directly associated with radiation exposure, social and psychological consequences were not directly related to the biological effects of radiation, they were induced by the event itself. At present time these problems are still of great concern. In territories contaminated with radionuclides monitoring of social and mental health status of residents was carried out. It was found that severity of psychosocial consequences depended on the status of a radioactively contaminated territory of residence, availability of sufficient information that people trust, the possibility to get well-timed psychological support enabling people to restore their self-confidence, spirit of activism and to improve motivation, as well as to raise awareness how to lead healthy lives, and how to live safely in territories with low-level radiation. All mentioned above should be taken into account when building public awareness strategy. It is necessary to point out that over the recent decade easing of psychosocial tension, social deadaptation, reduction of anxiety is observed in people residing in radioactively contaminated territories. This is the result of execution of the complex of remedial social-economical, medico-psychological actions.