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At least 865 records · Page 48Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Difficulties of families with handicapped children after the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake.

In order to clarify the difficulties which handicapped people experienced in the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake disaster, 678 families with handicapped children were studied 1.5 months after the earthquake. All the students who were enrolled in this study were going to some type of school or training classes for handicapped children in January 1995. The study was completed between 1 and 10 March. The questionnaires which were designed for this study consisted of three parts: the difficulties which the families were faced with, their requirements for social and medical services and the symptoms and reactions of their children after the earthquake. A total of 466 answers were obtained from their parents. The kinds of difficulties differed between the families of mentally retarded children and those of the physically handicapped. While many parents with physically handicapped children desired better medical information or materials, many parents with mentally retarded children wanted better care services for their children. Physical and psychological effects of the earthquake were only temporary in most cases. However, some of the handicapped children were still suffering from such reactions as of 10 March. From the results of our study it became evident that a systematic relief program for these handicapped people should be established. The relief program should include the distribution of information regarding medical and social services. Psychological reactions such as panic, excitement and suppression of mental activity were still observed in some handicapped children on 10 March. Further observation will therefore be necessary.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Operation Sumatra Assist: surgery for survivors of the tsunami disaster in Indonesia.

The tsunami of 26 December 2004 was one of the deadliest natural disasters recorded, with the Indonesian province of Aceh being the most devastated region. As part of the Australian Government's response to the disaster, the Australian Defence Force deployed personnel from the Sydney-based 1st Health Support Battalion to Banda Aceh, the capital of the province. This unit joined with medical personnel from the New Zealand Defence Force to form the ANZAC field hospital. The mission of this unit as part of Operation Sumatra Assist was to provide medical and surgical care to the people of Aceh during the critical stages of rebuilding of the tsunami-devastated region. Surgical teams of the ANZAC field hospital were some of the first to provide definitive surgical care to the critically injured survivors of the disaster. During the first 4 weeks of the deployment, 173 surgical procedures were carried out for 71 patients in this facility. Thirty patients underwent 119 procedures (69% of total) for injuries sustained in the tsunami. Most of these patients required debridements, dressing changes and wound management procedures for the management of severe soft tissue infections. Three amputations were carried out. The remaining 41 patients underwent 54 procedures (31%) for emergent surgical conditions unrelated to the disaster.

Altruism↗
PubMed2004

A framework for short-term humanitarian health care projects.

BACKGROUND: This opinion piece, based on the experiences of the author, outlines the planning involved for a short-term assignment. With growing demand for humanitarian health care assistance to underserved countries, a framework for organizing short-term trips to such areas would be beneficial to the trip organizers. CONTENT: The key to a successful project lies in focusing on specific populations and interventions while still in the planning stages. The hurdles that need to be cleared before actually embarking on the project are also discussed. OUTCOMES: The lasting result of such ventures lies in the learning experiences of the participants, the care that the population receives, and a deeper appreciation for global health and disparity.

Altruism↗
PubMed1994

Volcanic disaster mitigation in the Philippines: experience from Mt. Pinatubo.

Considerable progress has been made in volcanic disaster mitigation in the Philippines during the last four decades, since the devastating Hibok-Hibok eruption in 1951 and the establishment of the Commission on Volcanology (COMVOL), the forerunner of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) in 1952. The management of the Pinatubo Volcano eruption crisis of 1991-92 marks the highest point in the development of volcanic disaster mitigation in the country. State-of-the-art volcano monitoring techniques and instruments were applied; the eruption was accurately predicted; hazards zonation maps were prepared and disseminated a month before the violent explosions; an alert and warning system was designed and implemented; and the disaster response machinery was mobilized on time. The unprecedented magnitude and lingering nature of the hazards, however, and their widespread, long-term impacts have sorely tested the capability of the country's volcanic disaster mitigation systems. In particular, the lahar threat has triggered controversies and put decision makers in a dilemma of choosing between adaptive versus confrontational/control approaches. At least three strategies have been articulated and adopted in varying degrees and forms: (1) the establishment of a lahar monitoring-warning-evacuation system to deal with the lahar problem on an emergency basis; (2) relocation of settlements from the hazard zones; and (3) installation of engineering countermeasures to control/divert the lahar flows and protect settlements. A combination of the three appears to be the best, but the most effective and least costly mix remains to be determined.

Disaster Planning↗
PubMed1994

Northern Sudan in 1991: food crisis and the international relief response.

By the end of 1991, less than half the amount of relief food requested for North Sudan at the beginning of the year had been delivered. Despite ample evidence of social and economic stress and high rates of child malnutrition, many donors felt that relief needs had been exaggerated, and were unwilling to accept that relief assistance was urgently needed. The feeble response of the main food aid donors is explained initially by the politics of relief in 1990/91, which seriously delayed the launch of the relief operation. These problems were compounded by an oversimplified understanding of famine among some sections of the relief community, and by the orientation of the international relief system to crisis indicators. Toward the end of 1991, donors argued that despite the shortfall in relief assistance there had been no deaths from starvation, and therefore local people had 'coped' better than expected. This paper challenges that view by arguing that excess deaths did occur, but went unnoticed and unremarked. Local people's 'coping strategies', which supposedly 'saved the day', actually had very negative and sometimes fatal consequences.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1994

The prevention and mitigation of famine: policy lessons from Botswana and Sudan.

Botswana and Sudan experienced consecutive years of drought in the 1980s. Sudan faced a large decline in food entitlement and nutritional deterioration, which translated into famine in 1984/85. Botswana, on the other hand, nearly compensated income losses and averted nutritional deterioration and famine-related deaths. There are important lessons to learn from the famine prevention experience of Botswana. Its strategy for dealing with drought and famine combines policies of steady economic growth with supplementary poverty alleviation and drought relief programs. To provide continuity and stabilization of market operations in times of distress, the country channels sufficient food through market chains, provides price support to preempt market collapse and augments the income of consumers through public income transfer programs to prevent demand failure. In addition, it maintains a responsive and accountable political system and a decentralized participatory administrative structure. While Sudan should develop policies that are compatible with its own environment, it is crucial that it recognizes the critical role of public action in promoting growth, alleviating poverty, and providing timely relief responses in times of anticipated growth failure.

Botswana↗
PubMed1994

Environmental change in refugee-affected areas of the Third World: the role of policy and research.

This paper reviews the current nature of policy responses to environmental change in refugee assistance programmes. Based on a review of existing documentary material and a survey of UK-based NGOs, it is suggested that although refugee assistance agencies are aware of environmental issues, this is rarely translated into effective policy measures to identify and combat environmental degradation. Various existing methods used to calculate environmental impacts are considered, but a number of pitfalls are identified. It is suggested that little is known about the processes that lead to accelerated environmental change in situations of forced displacement, and that research providing deeper understanding of local environments and resource management systems is required for environmental policies to be effective.

Developing Countries↗
PubMed1994

Malnutrition and mortality during recent famines in Ethiopia: implications for food aid and rehabilitation.

The 1972-73 and 1984-85 famines varied significantly among different populations within famine areas at the regional, community and household levels. Political and social factors were crucial in this pattern. Evidence from both pastoral and farming areas indicates that the development of community-based resources may be less disruptive socially and economically and result in less morbidity and mortality than dependence on relief shelters. Areas needing further study are identified.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Food security reserve policy in Ethiopia: a case study of experience and implications.

Food security reserve policy in Ethiopia since 1982 is reviewed in the light of the limited progress made elsewhere in Africa in establishing and maintaining such reserves. While the reserve played some role in dealing with the crisis of 1987/8, donor confidence was eroded by unauthorised drawings from the reserve and other factors. In 1992, the Ethiopian Food Security Reserve Authority was established to provide a system of management more acceptable to donors. This had led to donor pledges to replenish the reserve, though it remains well below the target level. Despite increased government commitment of funds, donor confidence remains fragile and the reserve remains dependent on donor support. The place of the reserve in national food security policy is not yet fully defined. Conclusions are drawn for food security reserve policy in Ethiopia and elsewhere in Africa.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1994

Saving enemy children: Save the Children's Russian relief operation, 1921-23.

When the Russian harvest failed in 1921, the economy had been devastated by years of disasters. Appeals were made to the outside world, and Save the Children was one of the main agencies to respond. Despite reservations about supporting the Soviets, a major advertising campaign was launched, raising large sums of money which were used to open feeding centres in the face of adverse climate and a devastated infrastructure. Facing some critical press coverage, the Fund used advanced media techniques to get its message across. By summer 1923, the famine was over and the Fund had succeeded in feeding up to 675,000 people.

Child↗
PubMed1994

Children's experience of conflict related emergencies: some implications for relief policy and practice.

This paper challenges the limited models of childhood, conflict and relief which determine most humanitarian interventions targeting children in conflict related emergencies. In particular, it notes the tendency of relief programmes to focus on "spectacular" groups of children (orphans, child combatants and refugees) at the expense of larger child populations indirectly affected by conflict. This relief bias is attributed to an inappropriate 'apocalypse model' of conflict which sees relief interventions only as repair. The bias also lies in a mistakenly universalist model of childhood and a medical paradigm which pathologizes children's experience in conflict and characterizes children as passive victims rather than active survivors. The paper argues for greater recognition of the wider social experience of children in conflict, and for relief practice which takes account of childhood resilience and children's different roles and capacities in coping with conflict. Appropriate interventions must engage with the wide variety of indigenous coping mechanisms involving children and not simply replicate a standard package of relief interventions in every emergency, based on simplistic and universalist interpretations of children's experience of conflict.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1994

Disasters, family tracing and children's rights: some questions about the best interests of separated children.

Large numbers of children get separated from their families and communities in disasters. Family tracing is an attempt to find the families and assess if the children can be reunited. This paper examines how questions about the rights of children arise in the context of family tracing. It then looks at the challenges posed by effective and child sensitive tracing to both emergency and development programmes. The paper suggests that traditional coping mechanisms within communities are part of the social infractructure which all disaster intervention, including family tracing programmes, need explicitly to build on and repair.

Child↗