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Learning From The Past and Planning For The Future
MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT April 30, 2004 "Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight." - Benjamin Franklin
Short Subjects
LINKS Rocky Mountain Region
Disaster Mental Health Institute
CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS:
27th National AACBT Conference
(Australian Association for
Cognitive and Behavior Therapy)
May 15 - 19, 2004
Location: Perth, Western Australia
AUSTRALIA
3rd Annual Hawaii
International Conference on Social Sciences
June 16 - 19, 2004
Location: Honolulu Hawaii, USA
Contact: social@hicsocial.orgSociety for the Psychological Study of
Social Issues (SPSSI) Convention
June 25 - 27, 2004
Location: Washington, DC, USA
17th Congress of the International Association
of Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP)
August 2 - 6, 2004
Location: Xi'an, CHINA
Contact: Zheng Gang
Institute of Psychology
Chinese Academy of Sciences
100101 Beijing, China
Email: iaccp2004@psych.ac.cnSixth International Conference of
the Learning Sciences (ICLS 2004):
"Embracing Diversity in the Learning Sciences"
June 22 - 26, 2004
Location: Santa Monica, California, USA
International Society of Political Psychology
27th Annual Scientific Meeting
July, 15-18, 2004
Location: Lund, Sweden
62nd Annual Conference of the
International Council of Psychologists
August 3 - 6, 2004
Location: University of Jinan
Jinan, CHINA
Contact: Dr. Natividad Dayan
Scientific Chair
99 General Ave
GSIS Village, Project 8
Quezon City, Metro Manila
01108 PHILIPPINES Telephone: 632-724-5358
Email: bereps@pacific.net.phXXVIII International Congress of Psychology
August 8 - 13, 2004
Location: Beijing, CHINA
Contact: XiaoLan FU, Deputy Director
Committee for International Cooperation
Chinese Psychological Society
Institute of Psychology
Chinese Academy of Sciences
P.O. Box 1603
Beijing 100101, China
Telephome: +86-10-6202-2071
Fax: +86-10-6202-2070
22nd Nordic Congress of Psychology:
"Psychology in a World of Change and Diversity -
Challenges for our Profession"
August 18 -20, 2004
Location: Copenhagen, DENMARK
Contact: Roal Ulrichsen, Chair
NPK2004 Organizing Committee
Danish Psychological Association
Stokholmsgade 27, DK-2100
Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
Email: bh@vanhauen.dk
President Orders Disaster Aid For Micronesia Typhoon Response
The head of the U.S Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that President Bush has ordered federal disaster aid for the Federated States of Micronesia to supplement response efforts for Typhoon Sudal in the state of Yap. Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, said the President took the action under a major disaster declaration issued directly after receiving from FEMA Micronesia’s expedited request for federal aid. For Full Story, Go To: http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=11767
112 Fire Departments And Organizations To Receive Over $4 Million In First Responder Funds
Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, announced $4 million for 112 Fire Prevention and Safety grants that are part of the Assistance to Firefighter Grant program (AFG). The Fire Prevention and Safety aspect of the AFG program reserves the highest priority for projects focusing on the prevention of fire-related injuries to children. Many of these awards represent innovative solutions for the delivery of fire prevention activities throughout the United States. "President Bush’s request and the appropriation by Congress of these funds demonstrate this nation’s commitment to support America’s fire prevention activities," said Brown. "Too many Americans are injured or lose their lives because of fires each year, and these funds will assist with reducing those injuries and loses." For Full Story, Go To: http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=11748
FEMA's New On-Line Course Helps Schools Develop Effective Emergency Operations Plans
The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is unveiling today an on-line, independent study course that will help educators and first responders develop effective emergency operations plans for the wide array of potential emergencies that schools face. "Our Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools course has long been successful in helping educators protect their students," said Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response. "Now this course is available online, increasing its reach across the nation and greatly enhancing the nation’s school emergency planning." Specialists at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute developed the online course, IS 362: Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools, which is based on a traditional classroom course that FEMA has been offering for nine years. The online course describes emergency management operations, roles and responsibilities, explains how to assess potential hazards schools face, and explains how to develop and test an emergency operations plan. While the course takes an all-hazards approach to emergency planning, it does include a lesson on planning for terrorism. For More Information, Go To: http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=11907
FEMA’s Fire Department Census Shows Increase In Registrants, Enhancing Information Collection
The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that the National Fire Department Census had 22,250 registered fire departments on April 1, 2004 – approximately 75 percent of U.S. fire departments. This is an increase from two years ago, when only about half of all of the nation’s fire departments had submitted information for the census. "This national database is used by the fire protection and prevention communities, allied professionals, the general public and the U.S. Fire Administration," said Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response. "We’re pleased that so many departments have seen the value and submitted information to this database." The fire departments registered with the census represent some 41,000 fire stations and more than 1 million personnel, including career, volunteer and paid-per-call firefighters, civilian staff, and non-firefighting volunteers. The departments are located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. The census is managed by the National Fire Data Center, part of the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). The census database provides a directory of registered fire departments and includes basic information including address, department type, Web site address and number of stations. For More Informatio, Go To: http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=11990
National Flood Conference Opens in Seattle
Emergency managers, insurance agents, lenders, real estate professionals and claims adjusters from around the nation will converge in Seattle May 2-5, 2004, to attend this year’s National Flood Conference. The four-day conference is being sponsored by the U. S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency. For Full Story, Go To: http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=12067
Improving water and sanitation access would cost $11.3 billion more a year - UN
With the United Nations Millennium Declaration putting pressure on governments to halve the number of people lacking access to safe water and decent sanitation by 2015, a new report, sponsored by the UN health agency and launched today, estimates that the additional global investment needed will be $11.3 billion per year. The World Health Organization (WHO) report, "Evaluation of the Costs and Benefits of Water and Sanitation Improvements at the Global Level," was prepared by the Swiss Tropical Institute and presented at the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-12) in New York. For Full Story, Go To: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=10543&Cr=water&Cr1=sanitation
North and West Africa facing ‘most serious locust’ threat in 10 years – UN
Warning of “the most serious locust situation” in West and Northwest Africa in 10 years, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued yet another alert, calling for $17 million to continue the current preventive campaign and extend it to new areas. Stressing that it took several years and more than $300 million to end the last desert locust plague of 1987-1989, FAO Locust Information Officer Keith Cressman noted that widespread laying, hatching and band formation were in progress south of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and Algeria, and there were also large locust populations in northern Mauritania and some in Niger. Fo Full Story, Go To: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=10534&Cr=Locusts&Cr1=FAO
Sharing water resources is major world challenge, Annan says
With inadequate supplies of water already becoming a drag on development and a catalyst for international tensions, the equitable sharing of water resources is one of the most important challenges the world faces, according to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The riparian countries of the Niger River are whipped by climatic disequilibria and population pressures, which affect the level of the river, Mr. Annan told the summit in Paris of the River Niger Basin Authority (ABN) in a message delivered by his Special Envoy for West Africa, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah. For Full Story, Go To: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=10527&Cr=niger&Cr1=
DPR of Korea: UN agency appeals for fresh aid to feed train disaster victims
Fresh from delivering the first humanitarian aid to hospital victims of last week’s railway disaster in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today called for urgent extra donations to feed thousands of others left injured or homeless. "WFP has been at the forefront of this emergency operation and we intend to remain there for as long as we are needed," Regional Director for Asia Tony Banbury said, stressing the additional strain “this terrible tragedy” has put on the agency’s already severely underfunded battle to feed 6.5 million long-term drought victims in the DPRK. For Full Story, Go To: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=10530&Cr=DPR&Cr1=
Talking Points About Antidepressants and Suicide
Many people have asked for advice about how to respond to questions from patients and the lay public about the recent press, and ultimately US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warnings, about suicidality and antidepressants. It might be helpful to the read some talking points about this issue which may be used in responding to these questions. For the article, Go To: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/473397
MAP OF HUMAN GENES REPRESENTS STEP TOWARD FIGHTING DISEASE
A detailed functional map of more than 20,000 human genes will be published today (April 20) by an international consortium of 152 scientists from 40 institutions worldwide, including a group at Penn State lead by Wojciech Makalowski, associate professor of biology. The study, which establishes a connection between the functions of genes and their products and the clinical effects that each of them has upon human health, is expected to set the standard for analysis of gene expression and human diseases worldwide. The Penn State team was primarily responsible for the evolutionary analysis of the full complement of genes known to be active in the human genome, called its trascriptome. Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/6496
THE MEDICAL MINUTE: IMMUNIZATION IS AN ACT OF LOVE
Have you ever seen measles? How about mumps? When was the last time you heard of a child hospitalized or dying from whooping cough? If you grew up in the 1950s or earlier you probably can answer those questions, but for parents of infants today those diseases are ancient history. There was a time in our country when summer activities were curtailed due to polio outbreaks and parents panicked at any episode of fever in their children. According to the latest edition of the Medical Minute, a service of Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, it's easy to be complacent if you've never known the former "diseases of childhood," but as an act of parental love, vaccines rank with cuddling and feeding. Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/6641
ASSESSING RESILIENCE AND VULNERABILITY IN EMERGENCY AND DISASTER SITUATIONS
Losses, Damage and NeedsWhile there are wide variations in the types of losses individuals, groups and communities may suffer, the following lists the most common types of potential losses and damages:
1. Safety
• Threats of death or injury.2. Home/Shelter
• Threats to safe, appropriate accommodation.3. Health/Well-being
• Threats to short or long-term well-being in terms of physical health and psychological and emotional well-being.4. Food
• Threats to an adequate supply of food and to a supply that is uncontaminated.5. Contaminated Water
• Threats to an adequate supply of water and to a supply that is uncontaminated.6. Sewage/Waste Disposal
• Threats to a continued safe disposal of waste and an avoidance of environmental health risks.7. Social Links
• Threats to the networks and links which sustain daily community life, which provide a sense of order and meaning and which allow access to support and services.8. Information
• Threats to sources or outlets of information about existing or emergency management services.9. Access
• Threats to transport systems and utilities as well as to physical infrastructure such as roads and bridges.10. Income/economic opportunity
• Threats to the capacity to earn a livelihood through the loss of employment, loss of customers or the loss of assets.One possible way to prioritize needs might be the following:
1. Sustaining life (including people on life support machines).
• Essential medical facilities, medical equipment, "hospital in the home", medicines2. Sustaining physical well being
• Accommodation, food and water, clothing, etc.3. Sustaining mental well being
• Personal and psychological support and information.4. Reducing social isolation
• Access to support networks as well as information and resources.5. Reducing physical isolation
• Access to support networks as well as information and resources.6. Supporting emergency staff
• Supporting staff whose job is to provide urgent, critical support to others.7. Supporting people who have few resources
• Access to financial supplementation and resource supplementation.8. Assisting people who have resources adequate to manage their own recovery.
• Access to assistance.ASSESSING RESILIENCE
There are a number of factors which support individuals, families and communities which help to minimize the consequences of disasters in terms of supporting preparedness activities as well as supporting sustaining recovery activities. Some of them are the reverse of vulnerability such as access and adequate resources.
Identifying and assessing those positive factors possessed or shared by individuals, families, groups, communities and agencies which support resilience gives emergency planners and managers the opportunity to further develop resilience to increase the "disaster resistance" of the population.
Some of the elements supporting resilience include:
1. Shared community values, aspirations and goals• including a shared and positive sense of the future, a commitment to the community as a whole and agreement of community goals as well as a shared culture.2. Established social infrastructure
• such as information channels, social networks and community organizations such as sporting and social clubs.3. Positive social and economic trends
• such as a stable or growing population, a healthy economic base.4. Sustainability of social and economic life
• which embraces a capacity for the community to weather disruption.5. Partnerships
• Partnerships between agencies, between community groups and between commercial enterprises, or any combination of these may bring innovation, sharing of experience, knowledge, resources, and common goals. This applies particularly where the partners play a dominant role in the social and economic life of the town such as towns dominated by a particular industry or economic activity.6. Communities of interest
• Where a group may exist over a wide area and be otherwise socially diverse but they share a common area of interest, skill or expertise. This includes communities bound together by faith and religious commitment as well as less formal groups such as business or commercial associations or sporting or recreational clubs.7. Established networks
• Clear, agreed and stable links between people and groups facilitate the exchange of information as well as the sharing of resources and the commitment of skills, time and effort to planning and preparedness.8. Resources and skills
• The resources and skills available locally may be directly relevant to emergency management planning, preparedness and for community support if an emergency or disaster does occur. These can be identified by the type of resource or skill, its amount, the cost to use it, its availability, and by its location. Where useful resources or skills do not exist they may be developed or promoted as part of preparedness activities.ASSESSING HAZARD
The hazard agent itself will influence vulnerability and resilience. It will dictate, in part, appropriate preventive measures as well as the types of losses and needs which may occur and therefore the types of assistance measures which may be required.
There is no precise way to define in advance whether a particular event will be a disaster or emergency. This will require professional judgment at the time and will have to take into account such factors as the severity of the loss suffered by the community and the capacity of the community to support itself and to manage its own recovery.
The following include events which emergency management type agencies might deal with:
• Floods• Range Fires and Forest Fires
• Storms
• Tornados
• Hurricanes
• Road Accidents
• Criminal Shootings
• Bombings
• Landslides
• Financial Institution Collapses
• Child Abuse (where it has affected many families in a small, localized community over a long period)
• Public Health Issues
• Animal Disease
• Drought and other environmental problems which require personal and community support
• Earthquakes
• Volcanic Eruptions
• Hazardous Spills
• Airline and other Mass Casualty events
The hazard factors which may be considered include:
1. Predictability• Can the timing or location of the event be predicted (to allow prevention activities or protective action)? Is it seasonal or confined to one area?2. Speed of onset
• How much warning will there be?• How much time is available to move people and property to safety?
3. Destructiveness
• How destructive is the hazard?• How much threat of death and injury does it pose?
4. Duration
• For how long will the hazard persist?5. Frequency
• How often does the hazard occur?6. Area/Extent
• How much area will be affected and will there be an area from which other resources and support can be drawn?7. Number of people affected
• How many people will be affected?8. Assistance
• What assistance will be required if the event occurs?• What opportunities are there for self-protection, such as insurance?
DATA SOURCES
There are a number of sources available on demographic, socioeconomic and other aspects of community life and structure. Not all of these data sources will be of equal utility. Some may become dated over a period of time and some may charge a fee for access to information.
Sources include:
1. Local• Municipal surveys for planning and development purposes.2. Regional, State and National• Surveys and other research by specific agencies such as General Practitioners, hospitals and commercial and farming/ranching associations, including business associations.
• Local knowledge, for example:
~ Law Enforcement~ Storekeepers and merchants
~ Meals on Wheels databases
~ School teachers
~ Home and Community Care databases
~ Supported accommodation and other service providers
~ Public Health Nurse Services
~ Infant and child welfare agencies
~ Ethnic support agencies/groups
~ Community Health Centers
~ Community Mental Health Centers
~ Churches and other religious bodies
• Census Bureau• State Department of Health
• State Mental Health Department
• Professional Associations
• Fraternal Organizations
• FEMA and state counterparts
• NIH and NIMH
• Red Cross
METHODOLOGY TO ASSESS RESILIENCE AND VULNERABILITY
The primary thing needed is to decide and be able to justify the elements to be examined. These include:
HazardAlthough many hazard impacts result in similar consequences such as injury and the loss of residences, there may be differences between them. Wildfires (range fires and forest fires), for example, usually offer less warning time than do floods or hurricanes and may destroy houses totally whereas floods or hurricanes cause damage but often are unlikely to result in the total loss of a residence.
Locality
Each locality has unique characteristics and may have vulnerabilities and strengths in a different combination than others. It is therefore important to clearly define the area being assessed.
Scale
The size of the area chosen is also important. A large area may combine smaller areas which have little in common and will therefore skew results for the larger area if aggregated data is used. Scale also applies to the level of aggregation of data - that is, the extent to which it may be useful to generalize about an area.
Demographics
An analysis may be undertaken for a particular group within a given area. The results of this analysis will be useful only for that group of people.
Secondly, it is necessary to identify and agree on the sources of data and the methods used to acquire information.
These can include:
Local expertsDiscussions with people who are prominent in community affairs can frequently give special insights. Such people include law enforcement, doctors, state and local government personnel, nurses, other providers of services. This is a cheap method to gain special insights.
Focus Groups
Groups from the community, people with special interests or expertise or community leaders can meet to discuss and assess issues of vulnerability and resilience. This method often yields insights but is not particularly rigorous and will not identify all needs in a thorough way. This process is not time consuming, is relatively cheap, and is useful in scoping a locality or large area.
Census Data
Using census data can be a powerful technique for identifying the special characteristics of areas down to a few hundred houses. It can be conducted quickly and relatively cheaply but the data gradually becomes dated anf give a picture of an area but does not identify individuals or small groups.
Surveys
Surveys requesting data may be distributed to residents. This is expensive and time consuming but gathers a lot of data. However, it is still likely that it will not identify all people in possible need.
Questionnaires
Distributed with service providers such as Meals on Wheels or Public Health Nurses also collects a lot of data but is expensive and time consuming.
Outreach Programs
Post event outreach programs are a very useful technique for identifying losses and needs. Properly organized, it can be conducted quickly and efficiently.
Group Surveys
Surveys, discussions or questionnaires to social groups such as athletic groups, professional and commercial associations such as chambers of commerce, service clubs, and farmer/rancher associations can provide useful snapshots of an area and a community.
Reminder: No set of data is likely to be complete. All data needs to be kept up to date. Information is most useful if shared.
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To search for books on disasters and disaster mental
health topics, leaders, leadership, orgainizations,
crisis intervention, leaders and crises, and related
topics and purchase them online, go to the following url:
https://www.angelfire.com/biz/odochartaigh/searchbooks.html
RECOMMENDED READING
The September 11 Syndrome: Seven Steps to Getting a Grip in Uncertain Times
by Harriet B., Ph.D. Braiker
Editorial Reviews
Synopsis
Everyday life for ordinary citizens has become fraught with danger and the real threat of attack. Suddenly fear of flying, fear of crowded places, anxiety over heights, subways, public transportation, and even opening the mail cannot be dismissed as mere phobias. We are told to "get back to a normal routine" at the same time we are told to "be on your highest alert for attack" - it's no wonder we are fearful and anxiety-ridden. But at least for the near future, we must learn to manage our fears and anxieties or else become paralyzed by them and become unable to live our lives. Renowned psychologist Harriet Braiker presents 10 methods her patients have used successfully to reclaim their lives by managing stress in anxiety in ways that allow them to be vigilant to potential dangers and at the same time carry on their day-to-day business and personal affairs and plan for the future. Dr. Braiker presents readers the keys to psychological hardiness and resiliency - using proven techniques used by survivors of trauma and people who "thrive" on stress. Many people actually become energized and more effective in times of stress - for instance, Mayor Rudy Guiliani has performed at the top of his game during the WTC disaster, and even his staunchest critics have praised his actions. Braiker shows how to maintain the necessary mindset readers need in order to regain freedom of travel, commerce, and everyday joys. Her strategies include advice on how to focus on things you can control, instead of on things you can't. She tells readers that anxiety is not necessarily something they must avoid - that in fact, anxiety can facilitate performance if it can be kept at just the right level. This book will show how to keep that anxiety level in check.
Book Info
Arms readers with proven techniques for developing psychological hardiness and emotional resiliency. Braiker imparts the keys to regaining a sense of control over life and the freedom of mind to travel, conduct business, and experience everyday joys without being crippled by fear. Softcover.
Book Description
More than just the World Trade Centers were destroyed on September 11. Also lost to us was the sense of security and peace of mind taken for granted by generations of Americans. What once were dismissed as neurotic phobias, fear of flying, of public transportation, and of crowded places, for example are now considered normal reactions to real dangers.
Written by Harriet Braiker, renowned psychologist and author of the New York Times advice bestseller The Disease to Please, The September 11 Syndrome: Anxious Days and Sleepless Nights arms readers with proven techniques for developing psychological hardiness and emotional resiliency. Braiker imparts the keys to regaining a sense of control over life and the freedom of mind to travel, conduct business, and experience everyday joys without being crippled by fear.
Additional Readings at:
Also try looking here for September 11, 2001: A Simple Account for Children.
Videos on Terrorism
Other videos about terrorism
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Contact your local Mental Health Center or
check the yellow pages for counselors, psychologists,
therapists, and other Mental health Professionals in
your area for further information.
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Copyrighted and published by the Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Institute. No part of this document may be reproduced without written consent.The Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Newsletter is published online weekly by:
Rocky Mountain Region
Disaster Mental Health Institute, Inc.
Box 786
Laramie, WY 82073-0786
Newsletter Online: https://www.angelfire.com/biz3/news
Institute Home Page: https://www.angelfire.com/biz/odoc/rocky.html
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