Emergency and Disaster problem - Essay Example

Emergency and Disaster Management 50,000 Disaster Victims Speak: An Empirical Review of the Empirical Literature, 1981 - 2001 The paper selected for the critique is "50,000 Disaster Victims Speak: An Empirical Review of the Empirical Literature, 1981 - 2001", prepared by Fran H Norris and his team for the National Centre for PTSD and the Centre for Mental Health Services in September 2001. The review has been carried out under the aegis of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Although the tile of the paper is quite straightforward, it nevertheless attracts the attention of the reader. As one goes through the paper, one realizes that the disaster victims 'speak' in terms of facts and figures, in keeping with a quantitative research paper, rather than in terms of personal experiences. The second part of the title, though not specifying exactly the variables analyzed in the paper does clarify the scope of the paper, as well as the period covered by the review. The paper itself is laid out in three parts and "presents a review of the empirical research on the mental health consequences of disasters".

The Executive Summary thus clearly lays down the aim. It also briefly highlights the contents of each part, which have a bearing on the subject, the object being to "draw conclusions from the research base that have implications for practice in disaster mental health". The Executive Summary therefore is quite concise in reporting the purpose, methodology and importance of the study. However it does not commit itself to revealing any key findings or contributions at this stage, leaving it for the each part of the paper.

A word or two on this aspect would have sustained reader interest as well enabled the reader to interpret the data being presented in the correct perspective. Range, Magnitude and Duration Effects. This section focuses on event-level and sample-level predictors of outcome based on 80 different disasters based on three variables, namely, disaster type (natural, technological, mass violence), disaster location (USA, developed, developing world), and type (adults, children, rescue workers). Six sets of outcomes were observed including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), non-specific distress, health problems, living problems, and additionally among children, separation anxiety and increased delinquency.

As expected, school-aged children were the worst affected and rescue workers the least. The severity of the impairment varied depending upon the interaction of these three variables, with the multiple correlation being 0.54. Risk Factors for Various Outcomes. This section deals with outcomes within the samples to determine what classes of people are more susceptible to lasting psychological distress, "differentiating between pre-disaster, within-disaster and post-disaster factors. It emerged that women were affected more adversely than men, with married women, couples and parents being more at risk.

The socio-economic status of the victim was also an important factor, with PTSD increasing with the victims' inability to fend for himself. The key finding of this section was, that family support was the most important factor in post-disaster rehabilitation. Duration of Effects at Community and Individual Levels. 27 panel studies were carried out which revealed three trends. Firstly, that stress levels improved with the passage of time, though not necessarily in a linear manner; secondly, symptoms in the early stages were good indicators of later effects, and thirdly, that stress levels generally peaked in the first year itself.

Another finding was that communities, which were close-knit or had previous experiences of similar disasters, were better able to cope with PTSD. However, the research is silent on the importance of "examining the broader social, political and legal consequences of disaster in understanding continuing proactive responses by disaster survivors" (Eyre, A 1998). Overall, the paper is very well researched and gives well-documented outcomes of various effects. The key findings are too numerous to list, but they are pertinent to understanding and managing PTSD in the context of emergency and disaster management.

The review could be rated as an outstanding effort in the 'A' category.ReferencesEyre, Anne, "More than PTSD: Proactive Responses Among Disaster Survivors". The Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies Volume: 1998-2. Retrieved from http://www.massey.ae.nz/trauma/issues/1998-2/eyre.htmInternational Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, "50,000 Disaster Victims Speak: An Empirical Review of the Empirical Literature, 1981 - 2001." Retrieved from http://www.istss.org/terrorism/victims_speak.htm