Sunday, April 13, 2014

Mental wellbeing considerations in preparation for disaster healthcare: perceptions of deployed emergency staff

Researcher: Tytti Mäkinen; Supervisor: Sari Miettinen

The mental wellbeing of internationally deployed disaster relief workers has become an issue of concern. Many disaster situations to where humanitarian workers are deployed involve conflict with an ensuing threat of violence toward workers, in addition to exposure to stress, culture shock, witnessing trauma, fatigue and so on. The psychological consequences of these have been documented in research, however the role of training and preparation in supporting mental wellbeing has not received due attention, despite research indicating the need for it. Perceptions of the workers themselves of its efficacy and relevance has been researched minimally.

This qualitative study examines the perceptions of volunteers of a small international disaster relief organisation in regard to the pre-deployment preparation they have received and its appropriateness and effectiveness in supporting the volunteers' mental wellbeing.


3 comments:

  1. Hello Tytti,
    I'm a nursing student in Belgium and i'm doing my bachelor's paper about this subject. Is it possible to send me your research? My mail is margootje_dr@hotmail.com
    Thank you very much!
    Margot

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  2. Mental well being considerations is badly needed. It is now issue of concern. Pre-deployment preparation is the solution of it. So we should aware of this.

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