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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Responding to Disasters: More than economic and infrastructure interventions
Insights on the Depression and Anxiety, Vol.2(1), pp.14-28
2017
Abstract
Objectives: Natural disasters confront individuals, communities and governments with the challenge of rebuilding and addressing psychosocial sequelae. With the increasing number of natural disasters it is timely to evaluate the effi cacy of interventions and strategies to address the mental health needs of individuals and the community. Method: An evaluation of literature related to the psychological impact of natural disasters, treatment effi cacy and government strategies to confront the social and psychological impact of natural disasters for the period 1983-2016 was undertaken. Results: Epidemiological studies following natural disasters despite the use of differing psychological measures demonstrate signifi cant psychological morbidity-anxiety (7-42%), complicated grief (28-41%), depression (6.5-38%), post-traumatic stress disorder (11-89%) and substance misuse (1.3-24%). Intervention studies post-disaster demonstrate effi cacy variability. Conclusions: The increase in the number and impact of meteorological and hydrological events since the 1980s and the psychological, social and economic consequences of these events has resulted in the development and implementation of government policies to confront the immediate and long-term adverse outcomes. The focus is typically on resources and infrastructure redevelopment with less focus on social and mental health interventions with long-term evaluation of interventions uncommon. The consequence of natural disasters emphasizes the importance developing strategies to ensure effective evaluated psychosocial interventions are available across at-risk communities. Introduction The capacity to respond to a disaster is innluenced by the event and the social, economic, cultural and political consequences that impact on the community, organizations and individuals. Recognition of the importance of a collaborative whole-of-government approach to disasters is emphasized by Australian and State Government Disaster management strategies that accept a collective approach that encompasses community sector, emergency services, defense forces, government agencies, business and individuals. A signiiicant aspect of this planning is the identiiication of the need to enhance national and individual resilience through risk management that engages the individual, government and other agencies in planning, preparation and implementation of all hazard prevention strategies that use and build on individual and community capacity. The development of a strategy to provide high-level guidance on disaster management across all levels of government, not for prooit organizations, community and business leaders and families and individuals was perceived as a crucial initial step to enhance Australia's capacity to provide a
Details
- Title
- Responding to Disasters: More than economic and infrastructure interventions
- Authors
- David Crompton (Author) - Griffith UniversityRoss Young (Author) - Queensland University of TechnologyJane Shakespeare-Finch (Author) - Queensland University of TechnologyBeverley Raphael (Author) - Australian National University
- Publication details
- Insights on the Depression and Anxiety, Vol.2(1), pp.14-28
- Publisher
- Heighten Science Publications Corporation
- Date published
- 2017
- DOI
- 10.29328/journal.ida.1001007
- ISSN
- 2640-2882
- Copyright note
- Copyright: © 2018 David Crompton OAM, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation)
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99553507402621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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