Learning From The Past and Planning For The Future
MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT September 22, 2000 "What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity." - Joseph Addison LINKS AND SHORT TOPICS
LINKS AND SHORT TOPICS
Addiction Search
http://www.addictionsearch.com/ Visit this site for research-based addictions information, including articles posted daily from national news sources. The site lists descriptions of types of addictions and addictive substances, as well as statistics on populations affected and suggestions for prevention and intervention. The site also features a selected Web site and addiction- related question each week.
National Human Genome Research Institute Visiting Investigator Program
Offers investigators from outside the National Institutes of Health an opportunity to spend six to 12 months learning new technologies, developing research collaborations or pursuing sabbatical research projects.
Contact: Galen Perry Email: gpp@nhgri.nih.gov
Web site: http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/DIR/VIP/vip.htmlThe University of New Mexico
is offering free training in Motivational Interviewing (MI) to licensed health professionals who treat substance abuse disorders. MI is a client-centered, brief intervention to elicit behavior change by helping people explore and resolve their ambivalence about their drug use.
Web site: http://www.motivationalinterview.org/
China Cultural Tour Informationhttps://www.angelfire.com/biz3/odocspan/china1.html
||| Contents: Volume 1 ||| Contents: Volume 2 ||| ||| Mental Health Moment Online |||
ASSESSING RESILIENCE AND VULNERABILITY IN EMERGENCY AND DISASTER SITUATIONS - Part II
Losses, Damage and Needs While there are wide variations in the types of losses individuals, groups and communities may suffer, the following lists the most common types of potential losses and damages: 1. Safety * Threats of death or injury. 2. Home/Shelter * Threats to safe, appropriate accommodation. 3. Health/Well-being * Threats to short or long-term well-being in terms of physical health and psychological and emotional well-being. 4. Food * Threats to an adequate supply of food and to a supply that is uncontaminated. 5. Contaminated Water * Threats to an adequate supply of water and to a supply that is uncontaminated. 6. Sewage/Waste Disposal * Threats to a continued safe disposal of waste and an avoidance of environmental health risks. 7. Social Links * Threats to the networks and links which sustain daily community life, which provide a sense of order and meaning and which allow access to support and services. 8. Information * Threats to sources or outlets of information about existing or emergency management services. 9. Access * Threats to transport systems and utilities as well as to physical infrastructure such as roads and bridges. 10. Income/economic opportunity * Threats to the capacity to earn a livelihood through the loss of employment, loss of customers or the loss of assets. One possible way to prioritize needs might be the following: 1. Sustaining life (including people on life support machines). * Essential medical facilities, medical equipment, "hospital in the home", medicines 2. Sustaining physical well being * Accommodation, food and water, clothing, etc. 3. Sustaining mental well being * Personal and psychological support and information. 4. Reducing social isolation * Access to support networks as well as information and resources. 5. Reducing physical isolation * Access to support networks as well as information and resources. 6. Supporting emergency staff * Supporting staff whose job is to provide urgent, critical support to others. 7. Supporting people who have few resources * Access to financial supplementation and resource supplementation. 8. Assisting people who have resources adequate to manage their own recovery. * Access to assistance. ASSESSING RESILIENCE There are a number of factors which support individuals, families and communities which help to minimize the consequences of disasters in terms of supporting preparedness activities as well as supporting sustaining recovery activities. Some of them are the reverse of vulnerability such as access and adequate resources. Identifying and assessing those positive factors possessed or shared by individuals, families, groups, communities and agencies which support resilience gives emergency planners and managers the opportunity to further develop resilience to increase the "disaster resistance" of the population. Some of the elements supporting resilience include: 1. Shared community values, aspirations and goals * including a shared and positive sense of the future, a commitment to the community as a whole and agreement of community goals as well as a shared culture. 2. Established social infrastructure * such as information channels, social networks and community organizations such as sporting and social clubs. 3. Positive social and economic trends * such as a stable or growing population, a healthy economic base. 4. Sustainability of social and economic life * which embraces a capacity for the community to weather disruption. 5. Partnerships * Partnerships between agencies, between community groups and between commercial enterprises, or any combination of these may bring innovation, sharing of experience, knowledge, resources, and common goals. This applies particularly where the partners play a dominant role in the social and economic life of the town such as towns dominated by a particular industry or economic activity. 6. Communities of interest * Where a group may exist over a wide area and be otherwise socially diverse but they share a common area of interest, skill or expertise. This includes communities bound together by faith and religious commitment as well as less formal groups such as business or commercial associations or sporting or recreational clubs. 7. Established networks * Clear, agreed and stable links between people and groups facilitate the exchange of information as well as the sharing of resources and the commitment of skills, time and effort to planning and preparedness. 8. Resources and skills * The resources and skills available locally may be directly relevant to emergency management planning, preparedness and for community support if an emergency or disaster does occur. These can be identified by the type of resource or skill, its amount, the cost to use it, its availability, and by its location. Where useful resources or skills do not exist they may be developed or promoted as part of preparedness activities. ASSESSING HAZARD The hazard agent itself will influence vulnerability and resilience. It will dictate, in part, appropriate preventive measures as well as the types of losses and needs which may occur and therefore the types of assistance measures which may be required. There is no precise way to define in advance whether a particular event will be a disaster or emergency. This will require professional judgment at the time and will have to take into account such factors as the severity of the loss suffered by the community and the capacity of the community to support itself and to manage its own recovery. The following include events which emergency management type agencies might deal with: * Floods * Range Fires and Forest Fires * Storms * Tornados * Hurricanes * Road Accidents * Criminal Shootings * Bombings * Landslides * Financial Institution Collapses * Child Abuse (where it has affected many families in a small, localized community over a long period) * Public Health Issues * Animal Disease * Drought and other environmental problems which require personal and community support * Earthquakes * Volcanic Eruptions * Hazardous Spills * Airline and other Mass Casualty events The hazard factors which may be considered include: 1. Predictability * Can the timing or location of the event be predicted (to allow prevention activities or protective action)? Is it seasonal or confined to one area? 2. Speed of onset * How much warning will there be? * How much time is available to move people and property to safety? 3. Destructiveness * How destructive is the hazard? * How much threat of death and injury does it pose? 4. Duration * For how long will the hazard persist? 5. Frequency * How often does the hazard occur? 6. Area/Extent * How much area will be affected and will there be an area from which other resources and support can be drawn? 7. Number of people affected * How many people will be affected? 8. Assistance * What assistance will be required if the event occurs? * What opportunities are there for self-protection, such as insurance? DATA SOURCES There are a number of sources available on demographic, socioeconomic and other aspects of community life and structure. Not all of these data sources will be of equal utility. Some may become dated over a period of time and some may charge a fee for access to information. Sources include: 1. Local * Municipal surveys for planning and development purposes. * Surveys and other research by specific agencies such as General Practitioners, hospitals and commercial and farming/ranching associations, including business associations. * Local knowledge, for example: ~ Law Enforcement ~ Storekeepers and merchants ~ Meals on Wheels databases ~ School teachers ~ Home and Community Care databases ~ Supported accommodation and other service providers ~ Public Health Nurse Services ~ Infant and child welfare agencies ~ Ethnic support agencies/groups ~ Community Health Centers ~ Community Mental Health Centers ~ Churches and other religious bodies 2. Regional, State and National * Census Bureau * State Department of Health * State Mental Health Department * Professional Associations * Fraternal Organizations * FEMA and state counterparts * NIH and NIMH * Red Cross METHODOLOGY TO ASSESS RESILIENCE AND VULNERABILITY The primary thing needed is to decide and be able to justify the elements to be examined. These include: Hazard Although many hazard impacts result in similar consequences such as injury and the loss of residences, there may be differences between them. Wildfires (range fires and forest fires), for example, usually offer less warning time than do floods or hurricanes and may destroy houses totally whereas floods or hurricanes cause damage but often are unlikely to result in the total loss of a residence. Locality Each locality has unique characteristics and may have vulnerabilities and strengths in a different combination than others. It is therefore important to clearly define the area being assessed. Scale The size of the area chosen is also important. A large area may combine smaller areas which have little in common and will therefore skew results for the larger area if aggregated data is used. Scale also applies to the level of aggregation of data - that is, the extent to which it may be useful to generalize about an area. Demographics An analysis may be undertaken for a particular group within a given area. The results of this analysis will be useful only for that group of people. Secondly, it is necessary to identify and agree on the sources of data and the methods used to acquire information. These can include: Local experts Discussions with people who are prominent in community affairs can frequently give special insights. Such people include law enforcement, doctors, state and local government personnel, nurses, other providers of services. This is a cheap method to gain special insights. Focus Groups Groups from the community, people with special interests or expertise or community leaders can meet to discuss and assess issues of vulnerability and resilience. This method often yields insights but is not particularly rigorous and will not identify all needs in a thorough way. This process is not time consuming, is relatively cheap, and is useful in scoping a locality or large area. Census Data Using census data can be a powerful technique for identifying the special characteristics of areas down to a few hundred houses. It can be conducted quickly and relatively cheaply but the data gradually becomes dated anf give a picture of an area but does not identify individuals or small groups. Surveys Surveys requesting data may be distributed to residents. This is expensive and time consuming but gathers a lot of data. However, it is still likely that it will not identify all people in possible need. Questionnaires Distributed with service providers such as Meals on Wheels or Public Health Nurses also collects a lot of data but is expensive and time consuming. Outreach Programs Post event outreach programs are a very useful technique for identifying losses and needs. Properly organized, it can be conducted quickly and efficiently. Group Surveys Surveys, discussions or questionnaires to social groups such as athletic groups, professional and commercial associations such as chambers of commerce, service clubs, and farmer/rancher associations can provide useful snapshots of an area and a community. Reminder: No set of data is likely to be complete. All data needs to be kept up to date. Information is most useful if shared. ********************************************************* To search for books with further information on this topic, go to the URL below. Try using the following descriptors initially in the search engine: disaster and resilience, disaster and vulnerability, disaster and hazard, disaster and locality, disaster experts, demographics, census data, surveys and disasters, disasters and planning, types of disasters, disaster assessment, hazard assessment, disasters and communities, damage and disaster, losses and disaster, etc. https://www.angelfire.com/biz/odochartaigh/searchbooks.html ********************************************************* ********************************************************* Contact your local Mental Health Center or check the yellow pages for counselors, psychologists, therapists, and other Mental health Professionals in your area for further information. ********************************************************* George W. Doherty O'Dochartaigh Associates Box 786 Laramie, WY 82073-0786 MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT Online: https://www.angelfire.com/biz3/news
