scholarly journals The Integration of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support and Disaster Risk Reduction: A Mapping and Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon Gray ◽  
Fahmy Hanna ◽  
Lennart Reifels
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Literature Search ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Current Implementation ◽  
Awareness Raising ◽  
Mapping Exercise

The field of disaster and emergency management has shifted in focus towards the goal of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). However, the degree to which the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) field has followed this trend is relatively unknown. Therefore, the objectives of this review were to identify relevant projects, materials, and publications relating to MHPSS and DRR integration and define current domains of action in this integration. A review was conducted using a two-pronged approach for data collection. This approach included 1) a mapping exercise eliciting relevant documentation and project descriptions from MHPSS actors, and 2) a database and internet literature search. The mapping exercise was conducted between January and November 2019, while the literature search was completed in March 2019. The majority of identified materials concerned actions of capacity and systems building; preparedness; policy development, consensus building, and awareness raising; school- and child-focused DRR; inclusive DRR; and resilience promotion. Results also suggested that relatively little consensus exists in terms of formal definitions of and frameworks or guidance for integrating MHPSS and DRR. Moreover, domains of action varied in terms of current implementation practices and empirical evidence. Materials and projects are reviewed and discussed in terms of implications for advancing the integration of DRR and MHPSS and expanding MHPSS approaches to include building better before emergencies.

scholarly journals Tailoring Disaster Risk Reduction for Adolescents: Perspectives from China and Nepal

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s71-s71
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Newnham ◽  
Xue Gao ◽  
Jessica Tearne ◽  
Bhushan Guragain ◽  
Feng Jiao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Adolescent Participation

Introduction:More than half of the world’s youth live in the Asia Pacific region, yet efforts to reduce disaster risk for adolescents are hindered by an absence of age-specific data on protection, health, and engagement.Aim:China and Nepal have faced a recent escalation in the number of climatic and geological hazards affecting urban and rural communities. We aimed to examine disaster-related threats experienced by adolescents and their caregivers in China and Nepal, determine the scope for adolescent participation, and elicit recommendations for improving disaster risk reduction.Methods:Sixty-nine adolescents (51% female, ages 13-19) and 72 adults (47% female, ages 22-66) participated in key informant interviews and focus group discussions in disaster-affected areas of southern China and Nepal. Using inductive content analysis, several themes were identified as key to adolescents’ needs.Results:Security and protection emerged as a central issue, interlinked with preparedness, timely and equitable disaster response, psychosocial support, and adolescent participation. The mental health risks emerging from trauma exposure were substantial. Adolescents made extensive contributions to disaster response including involvement in rescue efforts and delivering first aid, rebuilding homes and caring for family members. Participants forwarded a number of recommendations, including investing in psychological support, skills training, and stronger systems of protection for those at risk of family separation, trafficking, or removal from school.Discussion:The findings informed a multilevel, interconnected model for disaster risk reduction tailored to adolescents’ needs. Supporting adolescents’ recovery and long-term resilience after humanitarian crises will require coordinated efforts in preparedness, security, and mental health care.

Linking mental health and psychosocial support and disaster risk reduction

Intervention ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ananda Galappatti ◽  
Stephen M. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
Disaster Risk

Managing Disaster-Related Health Risk: A Process for Prevention

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Keim
Keyword(s):  
Health Risk ◽  
International Development ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
National Research Council ◽  
The United States ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Washington Dc

AbstractIn 1994, the first World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction held in Yokohama, Japan affirmed that “Disaster prevention, mitigation, and preparedness are better than disaster response in achieving the goals and objectives of the decade. Disaster response alone is not sufficient, as it yields only temporary results in a very high cost.” Since then, disaster risk reduction has become the mainstay for international development related to disasters.According to the National Research Council (Washington, DC USA), “Disaster research, which has focused historically on emergency response and recovery, is incomplete without the simultaneous study of the societal hazards and risks associated with disasters, which includes data on the vulnerability of people living in hazard prone areas.” Despite over 25 years of global policy development, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (Washington, DC USA) recently noted that, “while some disaster management and public health preparedness programming may be viewed as tangentially related, a multi-sectoral and inter-disciplinary national platform for coordination and policy guidance on involving disaster risk reduction in the United States does not exist.” Today, one of the world’s “seven targets in seven years” as agreed upon in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is to substantially reduce global mortality by 2030. Significant reductions in health risk (including mortality) have historically required a comprehensive approach for disease management that includes both a preventive and a curative approach. Disaster risk management has arisen as a primary means for the world’s populations to address disaster losses, including those related to health. Prevention has been proven as an effective approach for managing health risk. This report describes the role of disease prevention in managing health risk due to disasters.KeimM. Managing disaster-related health risk: a process for prevention. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(3):326-334.

scholarly journals Incorporating Mental Health Research into Disaster Risk Reduction: An Online Training Module for the Hazards and Disaster Workforce

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1244
Author(s):  
Candace M. Evans ◽  
Rachel M. Adams ◽  
Lori Peek
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Disaster Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Training ◽  
Training Module ◽  
Health Training

There is an expansive and growing body of literature that examines the mental health consequences of disasters and large-scale emergencies. There is a need, however, for more explicit incorporation of mental health research into disaster risk reduction practices. Training and education programs can serve as a bridge to connect academic mental health research and the work of disaster risk reduction practitioners. This article describes the development and evaluation of one such intervention, the CONVERGE Disaster Mental Health Training Module, which provides users from diverse academic and professional backgrounds with foundational knowledge on disaster mental health risk factors, mental health outcomes, and psychosocial well-being research. Moreover, the module helps bridge the gap between research and practice by describing methods used to study disaster mental health, showcasing examples of evidence-based programs and tools, and providing recommendations for future research. Since its initial release on 8 October 2019, 317 trainees from 12 countries have completed the Disaster Mental Health Training Module. All trainees completed a pre- and post-training questionnaire regarding their disaster mental health knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests demonstrated a significant increase in all three measures after completion of the training module. Students, emerging researchers or practitioners, and trainees with a high school/GED education level experienced the greatest benefit from the module, with Kruskal–Wallis results indicating significant differences in changes in knowledge and skills across the groups. This evaluation research highlights the effectiveness of the Disaster Mental Health Training Module in increasing knowledge, skills, and attitudes among trainees. This article concludes with a discussion of how this training can support workforce development and ultimately contribute to broader disaster risk reduction efforts.

scholarly journals Protecting the Health and Well-being of Populations from Disasters: Health and Health Care in The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amina Aitsi-Selmi ◽  
Virginia Murray
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Publication Type ◽  
Sendai Framework ◽  
Health And Well Being

AbstractThe Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) 2015-2030 is the first of three United Nations (UN) landmark agreements this year (the other two being the Sustainable Development Goals due in September 2015 and the climate change agreements due in December 2015). It represents a step in the direction of global policy coherence with explicit reference to health, economic development, and climate change. The multiple efforts of the health community in the policy development process, including campaigning for safe schools and hospitals, helped to put people’s mental and physical health, resilience, and well-being higher up the DRR agenda compared with its predecessor, the 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action. This report reflects on these policy developments and their implications and reviews the range of health impacts from disasters; summarizes the widened remit of DRR in the post-2015 world; and finally, presents the science and health calls of the Sendai Framework to be implemented over the next 15 years to reduce disaster losses in lives and livelihoods.Aitsi-SelmiA, MurrayV. Protecting the health and well-being of populations from disasters: health and health care in The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(1):74–78.

scholarly journals Reducing the Future Risk of Trauma: On the Integration of Global Disaster Policy within Specific Health Domains and Established Fields of Practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lennart Reifels
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Mental Health Policy ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Disaster Mental Health ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Recovery Orientation ◽  
Health Policy And Practice

The global increase in the frequency and severity of natural hazards and extreme climatic events necessitates more efficient global and national strategies to reduce the likelihood and impact of traumatic consequences for disaster-affected populations. The recent inclusion of mental health in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction marks a pivotal point in the recognition of the significant burden of disasters on mental health, and a global commitment to reducing its impacts. Nevertheless, effective agreement implementation and efforts to reduce disaster mental health risks are facing significant challenges. These include a lack of clarity about the conceptual interlinkages and place of disaster risk reduction principles within the field of disaster mental health, which is traditionally marked by a prevailing recovery orientation, and the need for effective translation into disaster mental health policy and practice. Therefore, this study drew on data from interviews with European disaster mental health and risk reduction experts in order to appraise the merit and implications of a global disaster risk reduction policy for advancing population mental health in the context of disaster. Study findings outline existing opportunities, challenges, and key strategies for the integration of disaster risk reduction within disaster mental health policy and practice.

scholarly journals What We Measure Matters: The Case of the Missing Development Data in Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction Monitoring

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ksenia Chmutina ◽  
Jason von Meding ◽  
Vicente Sandoval ◽  
Michael Boyland ◽  
Giuseppe Forino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Natural Phenomenon ◽  
Sendai Framework ◽  
Development Data ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Mapping Exercise

AbstractThe Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015−2030’s (SFDRR) framing moved away from disaster risk as a natural phenomenon to the examination of the inequality and injustice at the root of human vulnerability to hazards and disasters. Yet, its achievements have not seriously challenged the long-established capitalist systems of oppression that hinder the development leading to disaster risk creation. This article is an exploratory mapping exercise of and a collective reflection on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and SFDRR indicators—and their use in measuring progress towards disaster risk reduction (DRR). We highlight that despite the rhetoric of vulnerability, the measurement of progress towards DRR remains event/hazard-centric. We argue that the measurement of disaster risk could be greatly enhanced by the integration of development data in future iterations of global DRR frameworks for action.

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