Public Health and Emergency Management

Week 4 LecturecastMental Health IssuesSupplement to Week 4 Slides

Public Health and EMWhat is mental health?How we thinkHow we actHow we feelHow we handle stressHo we relate to othersHow we make choices----------------Mental health is not the absence of anxiety, sadness or stress but the ability to handle these emotions

Public Health and EM

Public Health and EMGeneral Principles. No precise, universal timeline exists. Responses vary by disaster. These phases first were observed/described in natural disasters.)Warning of Threat: Ranges from no advance notice (suicide bomber) to weeks (hurricane)

Impact: Actual onset of disaster Varies. BT has fuzzy beginning/end; bombing is precise Rescue or Heroic: People watch out for, protect, even risk own safety to save strangers Remedy or Honeymoon: People initially pitch in and collaborate for the collective good Inventory: External resources begin to come onlinepeople watch what goes where Disillusionment: Resource allocation often seen as too little too late, poorly distributed Reconstruction and Recovery: People move beyond self interests and start to rebuild

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Mental Health and DisastersStress is a physical and emotional response to a situationCan be caused by tension or worry about something that is dangerous, unknown, or disturbingPhysical manifestations include:Digestive issuesIncreased heart rateShortness of breathHeadachesHypertensionInsomniaShort temperedFatigue

Public Health and EMNormal Necessary Productive and destructive Acute and delayed Cumulative Identifiable Preventable (Much stress is); Manageable (Most stress is)

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Factors Contributing to StressCharacteristics of the individual involvedActual losses (and threat of loss)Previous experience with similar eventsLevel of background stress in ones lifePhysical or psychological closeness to eventEffectiveness of ones coping mechanismsNature and extent of available social support

Public Health and EMFactors Contributing to StressFeatures of a disasterFamiliarity with the eventAvoidability of the eventSuddenness of its onsetIntensity of its impactCourse and duration of the eventDegree to which it can be controlled

Community or Societal FactorsPrevious level of community resourcesCommunitys level of preparednessExtent and nature of damage doneCommunitys experience with such an eventConsequent social/political unrestAvailability of resources to rebuild

Public Health and EMSeverity of Psychological Reaction After a Traumatic Event

Public Health and EMMost people affected by a traumatic event recover without external intervention.)

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Four major cultural groups were impacted by Hurricane Katrina:Native American5,000-6,000 ~10% of the entire pop for AL, LA, MS6 fed tribes, several unrecognizedMS Choctaw4,500 LA Mexican34,000 naturalized, 72,000 documented immigrants, and unknown number of documentedSome returned to MexicoReturn Migration for constructionVietnamesePart of the 72,000 documented immigrantsHouston assistance NOT through official channelsAfrican American

Public Health and EMBy focusing just on the living we devalue the presence, and the handling of the dead.

Vietnamese language barriers the word refugee carries connotations of war and political turmoil. For Vietnamese Americans who were already refugees as survivors of war to be again labeled as such was traumatic.

Mexican ICE The select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and the Response to Hurricane Katrina noted that the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers served as security for the FEMA relief Centers, and the application for relief included a notice that applicants information would be shared with ICE

Contrary to Red Cross policy some seeking aid at Red Cross shelters were required to produce proof of citizenship.

The presence of faith - A November 2001 survey asked people how they were coping with 9/11 and 90% indicated their religious faith was a primary coping mechanism.

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