(A10) Psychosocial Support Services in Disasters - Indian Experiences

K. Sekar
2011 Prehospital and Disaster Medicine  
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine studies/interventions attempt to list the various mental health problems and psychosocial consequences. There are very few studies which go beyond listing of consequences, to focus on implications of disaster mental health for long term disaster recovery. There is dearth of research based literature on the concept of community trauma, factors contributing to negative emotions and emotional distress/ problems, community response (social and cultural) to disaster
more » ... mental health issues, long term emotional implications of psychosocial consequences of disasters and the life course of individuals with mental health issues in the long run following disasters. The paper attempts to address the above mentioned issues in the context of 2004 tsunami. The paper is based on a study carried out in India two years after the disaster. A Case study approach was used and 177 case studies were collected from 104 villages in 14 affected districts of three states in India. The paper contributes to understanding the long term implications of disaster mental health for disaster recovery and reiterates the significance of integrating disaster mental health services within humanitarian services. India with 1.08 billion populations is vulnerable to earthquake (56%), floods (8%), cyclones (12%) and droughts (28%) every year. It is further compounded with refugees, riots, epidemic and endemic situations. Disaster psychosocial support and mental health services has consistently grown and standardized over
doi:10.1017/s1049023x11000276 fatcat:ysu5mj5nwbetln5yaqhwo23noe