SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Relief Work”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

PubMed2006

Does money work? Cash transfers to ex-combatants in disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration processes.

This paper analyses the relevance and potential of cash transfers as part of the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) assistance packages provided to ex-combatants in transitions from war to peace. To this end, a theoretical framework is established that permits the identification of the advantages and disadvantages of using cash in DDR. Subsequently, an empirical analysis is carried out to compare selected theoretical assumptions on the use of cash with the reality of lessons learned from recent experience in Sierra Leone and other African countries. The study shows that some theoretical drawbacks commonly associated with the use of cash in DDR processes may indeed bear out in practice. At the same time, though, the paper argues that the utility of cash transfers in DDR is affected by a variety of factors that go far beyond the simple choice of employing cash, most notably decisions on payment location, eligibility criteria and targeting.

Humans↗

PubMed2001

Tuberculosis infection after humanitarian assistance, Guantanamo Bay, 1995.

Upon redeployment to Fort Lewis, Washington, from Operation Sea Signal in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 5% of a military police unit was identified as positive for purified protein derivative (PPD). A case-control study was conducted to document the number of converters and to identify risk factors among the soldiers for PPD conversion while in Cuba. Forty-six of the soldiers (3.7% of the unit) met the criteria for PPD conversion as a result of deployment. Forty-four converters and 84 controls completed surveys. Logistic regression showed that statistically significant independent risk factors for PPD conversion included working around coughing migrants (odds ratio [OR] = 6.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.2-20.4) and birthplace outside the United States (OR = 4.89, CI = 1.3-18.5). Contact in the psychiatric hospital (OR = 0.22, CI = 0.05-0.90) and contact with migrants with known tuberculosis (OR = 0.16, CI = 0.05-0.54) appeared to be protective factors, possibly because known tuberculosis patients and hospitalized patients most likely would be on treatment and rendered noninfectious. With the U.S. military's involvement in humanitarian and refugee operations in countries highly endemic for tuberculosis, service members are at increased risk of acquiring tuberculosis infection. Detection of tuberculosis infection and appropriate treatment should become a higher priority within the U.S. military.

Case-Control Studies↗

PubMed1999

The Sphere Project: the implications of making humanitarian principles and codes work.

In 1996, in recognition of concerns about humanitarian response efforts, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) launched the Sphere Project, the first collaborative initiative to produce globally applicable minimum standards for humanitarian response. The aims of the Sphere Project are to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian efforts and to enhance the accountability of the humanitarian system, primarily to those people who have a right to protection and assistance in disasters, as well as to agency members and donors. This paper discusses the purpose of the Sphere Project, the unique process that brought it about and the major concerns that have been raised about its practical application. Finally, the paper considers the implications of this for improving the impact of humanitarian response and for future initiatives given the process that Sphere has begun. It argues that improved accountability does not start and stop with NGOs. They are just one element of a wider humanitarian response effort and more needs to be done to improve the system as a whole.

Altruism↗

PubMed1998

Challenge of goodness: twelve humanitarian proposals based on the experience of 1991-1995 wars in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Based on the 1991-1995 war experience of peoples of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, I made twelve proposals regarding the following aspects of health, humanitarian work, and human rights: 1. Broadening of the WHO definition of health by including spiritual well-being (absence of hatred) in it, 2. Inclusion of the term genocide into the Index Medicus (MeSH), 3. Establishment of concepts of prevention of hate, 4. Right to a home, 5. Right of civilians to participate in defense and renewal, 6. Right to deliberation from enslavement and right to find out the fate of missing persons, 7. Global hospital, 8. Monitoring of prisoner-of-war camps, 9. Refugee camps, 10. Providing of care for the abandoned - a new category of people suffering in war, 11. Introduction of the Helping Hand concept, 12. Organization of the Red Cross Forum after the cessation of hostilities. The fundamental objective was to establish the legitimacy of honesty in practice, regulative social mechanisms, and science.

Bosnia and Herzegovina↗

PubMed2003

Humanitarian crises: what determines the level of emergency assistance? Media coverage, donor interests and the aid business.

This paper proposes a basic hypothesis that the volume of emergency assistance any humanitarian crisis attracts is determined by three main factors working either in conjunction or individually. First, it depends on the intensity of media coverage. Second, it depends on the degree of political interest, particularly related to security, that donor governments have in a particular region. Third, the volume of emergency aid depends on strength of humanitarian NGOs and international organisations present in a specific country experiencing a humanitarian emergency. The empirical analysis of a number of emergency situations is carried out based on material that has never been published before. The paper concludes that only occasionally do the media play a decisive role in influencing donors. Rather, the security interests of Western donors are important together with the presence and strength of humanitarian stakeholders, such as NGOs and international organisations lobbying donor governments.

Afghanistan↗

PubMed2005

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn: her activities in humanity and medicine.

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the Executive Vice-President of the Thai Red Cross Society has followed the footsteps of her fore-bears, carrying the noble humanitarian work they began, particularly the work of the Thai Red Cross society and the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University. Her contributions have been a benefit to all, and she has earned great love and is held in high esteem by her people. Her ideas, thoughts, words, and activities have been of immense value to the faculty in both tangible and intangible ways. A selfless, dedicated women who is willing to make sacrifices for the common good, Her Royal Highness serves as a model humanitarian for the staff of the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, whose morale she has boosted and whose operations she has planned with the foresight ofa first-class administrator. Her devotion to the Thai Red Cross, and thus her devotion to her people, have indeed made her the royal gem within Thai hearts, with sparkling brilliance of her humanitarian deeds instilling the warmth of her love in our spirits.

Altruism↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Nursing in sudden-onset disasters: factors and information that affect participation.

INTRODUCTION: Little has been reported regarding the minimum conditions, information, and knowledge essential for dispatching nurses to join in sudden-onset disaster events from the viewpoint of nurses. This paper explores the issues and concerns that nurses faced when asked to respond to the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake event in Japan. METHODS: A standardized written survey tool was developed using input from four nurses who had responded to the disaster event. Questionnaires that included both "yes" and "no" answers and multiple-choice answers were developed and sent to 823 nurses who worked in four hospitals. RESULTS: A total of 477/823 (58.0%) questionnaires were completed and returned. Of the respondents to the questionnaire, 309 (62.1%) were qualified nurses, and 148 (37.9%) were students. Sixty-nine (15%) of the total 477 respondents participated in the disaster response to the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Primary among respondents' concerns were that they should wait for their superiors or institutions to direct them to go "somewhere" and to do "something", and how far away from home would they be required to travel. Home responsibilities conflicting with disaster response were a common concern for respondents. CONCLUSION: Managers should consider including the following conditions in disaster dispatch plans: (1) the dispatches should be made part of nursing duties; (2) the disaster plan should be constructed with organizations near disaster sites; and (3) clear directions regarding destination and expected activities should be provided to nurses.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Disasters and mental health: new challenges for the psychiatric profession.

Articles published in the Viewpoint section of this Journal may not meet the strict editorial and scientific standards that are applied to major articles in The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry. In addition, the viewpoints expressed in these articles do not necessarily represent those of the Editors or the Editorial Board.A disaster is the consequence of an extraordinary event that destroys goods, kills people, produces physical or psychological harm but, above all, which overcomes the adaptive possibilities of the social group. Disasters have strong political background and consequences. They shake the life of a community and raise questions about safety, social organization and the meaning of life. Disasters confront psychiatrists with challenges far beyond regular clinical activities or research strategies. During early interventions after a disaster, psychiatrists often have to work out of their usual clinical premises, in contact with unfamiliar professionals (i.e. rescue personnel) and with individuals who should not be considered as 'cases', and therefore without keeping regular clinical records. In the latter stages they have to confront many factors which tend to cause the clinical consequences of those affected and who developed a psychiatric condition to be chronic. Reactions to stress occur in stages, each one characterised by a specific psychological mechanism. Symptoms include flashbacks, difficulties in remembering, avoidance of stimuli, blunting of responses, high arousal level and obsessive ruminations. The strong biological and psychosocial factors which are unchained after a disaster should be recognised and chanelled. The experience of psychiatry with the bio-psycho-social model can help to understand what disasters are, how some negative aspects of them could be prevented, and how their consequences, both clinical as well as social, can be reduced.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1994

Military participation in emergency humanitarian assistance.

Military forces of the United States and other countries possess training, equipment and capabilities that are suited for work in disaster preparedness and assistance. Information on the use of military units in domestic and foreign disaster-related efforts, particularly by United States forces in the medical area, was obtained by review of the literature and unpublished military reports, and from interviews with people who have been involved with disaster-related activities. The historical reasons for viewing United States forces as resources in disaster situations are identified. Additionally, issues and problems related to disaster preparedness and assistance in general, and more specifically, to the past and future use of military personnel for this mission are examined. The need for a defined military mission for emergency humanitarian assistance and the need for a military organizational structure to support this mission are identified. Once these two critical issues have been properly addressed, the United States military should participate in the establishment of a disaster institute for joint civilian-military disaster planning and training, in both domestic and foreign areas.

Disaster Planning↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Social and mental health needs assessment of Katrina evacuees.

Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm on August 29, 2005. Many residents were evacuated to neighboring cities owing to massive destruction. Working with the City of Houston Health Department, researchers conducted a medical and psychological needs assessment of 124 Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Houston shelters from September 4-12, 2005. Among those willing to talk about their experiences, 41% were afraid they would die, 16% saw someone close to them injured or die, 17% saw violence, and 6% directly experienced physical violence. When using a version of the Impact of Stress Experiences scale, the majority of evacuees scored as experiencing moderate (38.6%) to severe (23.9%) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. These data suggest that in addition to challenges in finding loved ones, housing, and jobs, many Katrina survivors have experienced significant psychological trauma that may lead to future PTSD.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Physicians and international humanitarian law in complex emergencies: controversies and future opportunities.

This paper describes the areas in which the Geneva Conventions no longer are adequate as a source of legal description or prescription for the challenges faced by physicians working in complex emergencies. It covers the conceptual pitfalls facing the medical profession in connection with humanitarian interventions, which often are conventional military operations, but are not recognized as such because they may vary in some respects from more familiar forms of interstate conflict. Emerging categories of combatants who pose a major threat during complex emergencies also are identified. Opportunities to meet these challenges with the tools and culture of medicine are explored, and are proposed to the medical community as an opportunity for leadership. The paper proposes that new, epidemiological standards should be developed in order to identify the outbreak of armed conflicts and the trigger points for application of international humanitarian law. Such could replace the political model that presently underlies international humanitarian law. It also argues that international humanitarian law is not the starting point for application of humanitarian standards in war zones, but rather is built upon a peacetime medical culture that must be replicated in complex emergencies as a precursor to effective application of the law.

Altruism↗

PubMed2002

East Timor: the work of the New Zealand Forward Surgical Team from 1999 to 2000.

The surgical work of the New Zealand Forward Surgical Team (FST) during the peace-enforcing operations in East Timor is described for the year October 1999 to October 2000. The FST's intention was to provide medical support to the International Force, East Timor (a combined regional force) and later to the U.N. military and employed personnel in the remote Cova Lima district of East Timor. From the early days, U.N. level 2 medical support was also provided to the local population; this had not been planned for. During its first year, the FST and its attached regimental aid post consulted 5,017 outpatients and performed 226 surgical procedures. The local population's only other support was a general practice and obstetric hospital, with mobile clinics. The statistics provided are intended to assist future planners in operations other than war. One of the important lessons learned was that humanitarian medical care should be included as a tool in strategic military planning.

Altruism↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Impact of Hurricane Ivan on pharmacies in Baldwin County, Alabama.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of Hurricane Ivan, which made landfall east of Mobile, Alabama, on September 16, 2004, on pharmacies in the affected areas. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional analysis. SETTING: Baldwin County, Alabama. INTERVENTIONS: Pharmacy community rapid-needs-assessment survey. PARTICIPANTS: 41 hospital and community (chain and independent) pharmacies. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Posthurricane pharmacy hours of operations, prescription volumes, infrastructure damage, and prehurricane disaster planning. RESULTS: During the week of the hurricane, both chain and independent community pharmacies within the evacuation zone worked significantly fewer hours (46% and 49%, respectively) and dispensed significantly fewer prescriptions (37% and 52%) compared with the same week of the prior year. Overall, 40% of pharmacies depleted their supplies of certain medications (e.g., anxiolytics, antihypertensives). A total of 60% of the chain and independent pharmacies outside the evacuation zone closed because of loss of electricity, but pharmacies with a generator were significantly less likely to report having turned away patients. The proportion of pharmacies that had a disaster plan but turned away patients or rationed or ran out of medications was similar to that of pharmacies without a disaster plan. CONCLUSION: Although Hurricane Ivan primarily affected the operation of pharmacies within the evacuation zone, pharmacies in the surrounding area were also affected because of loss of power. Emergency management officials should evaluate the efficacy of specific guidelines outlined in disaster plans and identify ways to deliver essential medications to people in disaster-affected areas.

Alabama↗

PubMed2006

Assisting older victims of disasters: roles and responsibilities for social workers.

The tumultuous catastrophic tragedies of the Oklahoma bombing in 1995 and September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon have caused urgency for the profession of social work to be ready to respond to unexpected crises whether directed to an individual, group, or nation. While there has always been the possibility of tragedies in the U.S. caused by nature (so-called "acts of God") or the spontaneous or planned acts of criminals or the deranged, the increased awareness of catastrophes includes, as never before, disasters that are perpetrated by terrorist acts from within or outside of the U.S. The creation of the Department of Homeland Security, in 2003, underscores the need for awareness and for preparation on the part of the nation. Based upon its skills and values, social workers have significant roles to play in the face of potential and actual disasters; yet, gerontological social workers have additional responsibilities for addressing the needs of older persons. It is the purpose of this article to provide an overview of issues to be considered by social workers, in general, and gerontological social workers, in particular, with regard to preparation for possible disasters and the consequences from such catastrophes that affect older persons.

Age Factors↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Hospital preparedness for possible nonconventional casualties: an Israeli experience.

Since 9/11, hospitals and health authorities have been preparing medical response in case of various mass terror attacks. The experience of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in treating suicide-bombing mass casualties served, in the time leading up to the war in Iraq, as a platform for launching a preparedness program for possible attacks with biological and chemical agents of mass destruction. Adapting Quarantelli's criteria on disaster mitigation to the "microinfrastructure" of the hospital, and including human behavior experts, we attempted to foster an interactive emergency management process that would deal with contingencies stemming from the potential hazards of chemical and biological (CB) weapons. The main objective of our work was to encourage an organization-wide communication network that could effectively address the contingent hazards unique to this unprecedented situation. A stratified assessment of needs, identification of unique dangers to first responders, and assignment of team-training sessions paved the way for program development. Empowerment through leadership and resilience training was introduced to emergency team leaders of all disciplines. Focal subject matters included proactive planning, problem-solving, informal horizontal and vertical communication, and coping through stress-management techniques. The outcome of this process was manifested in an "operation and people" orientation supporting a more effective and compatible emergency management. The aim of article is to describe this process and to point toward the need for a broad-spectrum view in such circumstances. Unlike military units, the civilian hospital staff at risk, expected to deal with CB casualties, requires adequate personal consideration to enable effective functioning. Issues remain to be addressed in the future. We believe that collaboration and sharing of knowledge, information, and expertise beyond the medical realm is imperative in assisting hospitals to expedite appropriate preparedness programs.

Biological Warfare↗

PubMed2002

International Organization for Migration: experience on the need for medical evacuation of refugees during the Kosovo crisis in 1999.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) developed and implemented a three-month project entitled Priority Medical Screening of Kosovar Refugees in Macedonia, within the Humanitarian Evacuation Program (HEP) for Kosovar refugees from FR Yugoslavia, which was adopted in May 1999. The project was based on an agreement with the office of United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and comprised the entry of registration data of refugees with medical condition (Priority Medical Database), and classification (Priority Medical Screening) and medical evacuation of refugees (Priority Medical Evacuation) in Macedonia. To realize the Priority Medical Screening project plan, IOM developed and set up a Medical Database linked to IOM/UNHCR HEP database, recruited and trained a four-member data entry team, worked out and set up a referral system for medical cases from the refugee camps, and established and staffed medical contact office for refugees in Skopje and Tetovo. Furthermore, it organized and staffed a mobile medical screening team, developed and implemented the system and criteria for the classification of referred medical cases, continuously registered and classified the incoming medical reports, contacted regularly the national delegates and referred to them the medically prioritized cases asking for acceptance and evacuation, and co-operated and continuously exchanged the information with UNHCR Medical Co-ordination and HEP team. Within the timeframe of the project, 1,032 medical cases were successfully evacuated for medical treatment to 25 host countries throughout the world. IOM found that those refugees suffering from health problems, who at the time of the termination of the program were still in Macedonia and had not been assisted by the project, were not likely to have been priority one cases, whose health problems could be solved only in a third country. The majority of these vulnerable people needed social rather than medical care and assistance a challenge that international aid agencies needed to address in Macedonia and will need to address elsewhere.

Delivery of Health Care↗

PubMed1999

Posttraumatic stress disorder and identification in disaster workers.

OBJECTIVE: Disaster workers who work with deceased victims are at increased risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Identification with the deceased has been proposed as one of the mechanisms in this stress-illness relationship. To examine this hypothesis, this study investigated three types of identification with the dead in a group of disaster workers: identification with the deceased as oneself, identification with the deceased as a friend, and identification with the deceased as a family member. METHOD: Fifty-four volunteer disaster workers who worked with the dead following an explosion on the USS Iowa naval ship were assessed 1, 4, and 13 months after the disaster. PTSD symptoms (measured with the DSMPTSD-IV scale), intrusive and avoidant disaster-related symptoms (measured with the Impact of Event Scale), somatization and general distress (measured with the SCL-90-R), and health care utilization were assessed. RESULTS: Disaster workers who reported identification with the deceased as a friend were more likely than those who did not to have PTSD, more intrusive and avoidant symptoms, and greater levels of other posttraumatic symptoms including somatization. Disaster workers who reported identification with the deceased as a family member had greater intrusive symptoms 1 month after the disaster than those who did not. There were no differences between those who did and did not identify with the deceased as self. Health care utilization was not associated with identification. CONCLUSIONS: Identification with the deceased is a risk factor for PTSD and posttraumatic symptoms in disaster workers exposed to the dead. Identification with the dead as a friend is specifically associated with higher risk for these workers.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Surgical and psychosocial outcomes in the rural injured--a follow-up study of the 2001 earthquake victims.

INTRODUCTION: After a major disaster in a developing country, the graphic media coverage of the dead and injured invariably leads to an influx of volunteering healthcare personnel to the disaster zone. Very few studies document the outcomes of the treatment rendered in this field setting, under compromised conditions. We revisited the rural victims of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake in an attempt to analyse their surgical outcome and the status of their physical/psychosocial rehabilitation, 2 years after the disaster. METHOD: We traced displaced victims treated for earthquake-related injuries to their new homes. A community health worker interviewed patients with an oral questionnaire in the local language about injuries, the examining physician and first aid, orthopaedic implants, amputations, wounds, disability, deformity, residual pain, occupational and economic rehabilitation, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and perceptions of healthcare rendered. RESULTS: We located 133 of the 179 non-urban victims, from 11 villages. There were 10% missed injuries, 19% infection rate, restricted range of motion in 12%, non-union rate in 23% and reoperations in 30.5% patients. Fifty-one percent had resumed their previous occupation, but only 30% had recovered economically. Of 98% who had destroyed homes, 89% had their homes rebuilt. Residual sadness was the only significant PTSD symptom. CONCLUSION: This trauma outcome study highlights the shortcomings of surgeons for disaster-related work. One-tenth of the injuries were missed, suggesting that field examination at the site of disaster was more difficult than in the comfort of the hospital emergency room. Further there were inappropriately timed, aggressive implant operations, short time commitments, a lack of follow-up and a high rate of reoperations contributing to subsequent morbidity. These pointed to a need for training in disaster medicine within the curriculum of surgical residency. On the brighter side, despite poor sterility, prolonged transport times and no prehospital care, the postoperative infection rate was lower than expected. This perhaps was due to use of potent antibiotics in a previously unexposed rural population. Good physiotherapy given in the temporary shelters, by the informal carers within the family and by voluntary groups, kept up a good range of motion and reduced the final disability. PTSD was marked 3-6 months after the event, but was minimal 2 years postquake. Sadness about the event was the only residual PTSD symptom. While there were varying perceptions of satisfactory outcome, we found good coping mechanisms in place. The simple village folks were largely happy to be alive and accepted the residual deformities and cosmetic blemishes as a "small price to pay".

Adolescent↗