Samantha K Brooks1, Rebecca Dunn1, Clara A M Sage1, Richard Amlôt2, Neil Greenberg1, G James Rubin1. 1. a Department of Psychological Medicine , King's College London , London , UK and. 2. b Emergency Response Department, Health Protection Directorate, Public Health England, Microbial Risk Assessment and Behavioural Science, Porton Down , Salisbury , Wilts , UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: When disasters occur, humanitarian relief workers frequently deploy to assist in rescue/recovery efforts. AIMS: To conduct a systematic review of factors affecting the psychological wellbeing of disaster relief workers and identify recommendations for interventions. METHOD: We searched MEDLINE®, Embase, PsycINFO® and Web of Science for relevant studies, supplemented by hand searches. We performed thematic analysis on their results to identify factors predicting wellbeing. RESULTS: Sixty-one publications were included. Key themes were: pre-deployment factors (preparedness/training); peri-deployment factors (deployment length/timing; traumatic exposure; emotional involvement; leadership; inter-agency cooperation; support; role; demands and workload; safety/equipment; self-doubt/guilt; coping strategies) and post-deployment factors (support; media; personal and professional growth). CONCLUSIONS: As well as role-specific stressors, many occupational stressors not specific to humanitarian relief (e.g. poor leadership, poor support) present a significant health hazard to relief workers. Humanitarian organisations should prioritise strengthening relationships between team members and supervisors, and dealing effectively with non-role-specific stressors, to improve the psychological resilience of their workforce.
BACKGROUND: When disasters occur, humanitarian relief workers frequently deploy to assist in rescue/recovery efforts. AIMS: To conduct a systematic review of factors affecting the psychological wellbeing of disaster relief workers and identify recommendations for interventions. METHOD: We searched MEDLINE®, Embase, PsycINFO® and Web of Science for relevant studies, supplemented by hand searches. We performed thematic analysis on their results to identify factors predicting wellbeing. RESULTS: Sixty-one publications were included. Key themes were: pre-deployment factors (preparedness/training); peri-deployment factors (deployment length/timing; traumatic exposure; emotional involvement; leadership; inter-agency cooperation; support; role; demands and workload; safety/equipment; self-doubt/guilt; coping strategies) and post-deployment factors (support; media; personal and professional growth). CONCLUSIONS: As well as role-specific stressors, many occupational stressors not specific to humanitarian relief (e.g. poor leadership, poor support) present a significant health hazard to relief workers. Humanitarian organisations should prioritise strengthening relationships between team members and supervisors, and dealing effectively with non-role-specific stressors, to improve the psychological resilience of their workforce.
Entities:
Keywords:
Disaster; humanitarian relief; mental health; psychological impact; relief work
Authors: Gideon James Rubin; Sarah Harper; Paolo Diaz Williams; Sanna Öström; Samantha Bredbere; Richard Amlôt; Neil Greenberg Journal: Eur J Psychotraumatol Date: 2016-11-17
Authors: Tom Roberts; Jo Daniels; William Hulme; Daniel Horner; Mark David Lyttle; Katie Samuel; Blair Graham; Robert Hirst; Charles Reynard; Michael Barrett; Edward Carlton Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2020-08-11 Impact factor: 2.692