Week 2 Qualities of An Effective Disaster Mental Health Response

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Hi, I have 3 of my classmates' posts. I need you to respond to each one separately. Also, one source at least for each one of them. Don't write about how good their posts or how bad. All you need to do is to choose one point of the post and explore it a little bit with one source support for each response. The paper should be APA style. Also answer to these questions of each posts, Are you surprised by any of your classmates’ reactions? Why or why not? Did someone raise a necessary skill or character trait that you hadn't thought about for that role?

The question was : Reflection # 1 -- Put some effort into this, as it is actually one of 2 reflections for which you will be graded. This post will require more intensive consideration, effort, and even research. Please include references at the end. Do not post any answers as an attached document, but include the text directly in the thread.

What do you think it takes to be a qualitatively effective Disaster Mental Health responder?

1. What kinds of temperaments, character traits, and skills seem necessary?

2. What kinds of temperaments, character traits, and even skill sets might present barriers to being effective?

3. What if you were in that role? What traits or skills do you think you possess that would be helpful in that role? If not, what skills do you see yourself better suited for? Do you feel that there would be certain aspects of that role that might be especially challenging for you personally?


This the first post from my classmate IBRAHIM need for response:

QUALITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE DISASTER MENTAL HEALTH RESPONDER

Disaster occurs frequently and million affected globally when disasters occur, whether natural or fabricated. The impacts of disasters are far-reaching, and in most cases, affect an individual on a personal basis, a community, or even influence social stability (King et al., 2010). The recovery from disasters varies due to a complex interaction of factors traversing the social, political, economic, cultural, and psychological aspects of human life. Disaster respondents’ proficiency in vital qualitative aspects that enhance mental health in disaster management increase the efficiency of victims’ recovery (Oldenburger, Baumann & Banfield, 2017). The sole purpose of the posting is to review various traits and skills vital in ensuring a disaster responder is effective.

From interactions with experienced disaster management personnel and review of articles, it becomes evident that the knowledge of disaster management is imminent, and all disaster responders go through course training to ensure they have the right knowledge regarding disaster management. Nevertheless, not all of them function well. Various character traits, skills, and temperaments are crucial in ensuring their efficiency. Flexibility is essential in the aspect that at times, the situations might require an abrupt shift from the normal ways of doing things and only those with flexibility capabilities succeed in such scenarios (King et al., 2016).

Adaptability is also an important trait. The conditions in disaster-stricken geographical locations vary and might impact on a responders capabilities of acting in the right manner. For adaptive responders, optimal functioning in such scenarios is not an issue (King et al., 2010). Composure is also another vital trait coupled up with effective communication skills. In times of emergencies, the scenario might be intense and easily destructive, but for responders to achieve their objectives, calmness, and focus are essential (Oldenburger, Baumann & Banfield, 2017). The aspect of communication comes in on the fact that a lot of information needs to be processed during emergencies; similarly, communication in writing and oral is also vital. Listening, which is an integral skill for communication is also critical, and a typical phrase is that ‘you have to listen with your eyes.’ The phrase implies that understanding actual words and body language in crisis management is crucial in emergencies; therefore, attaining proficiency in communication is an added advantage (King et al., 2016). Critical thinking and reception to new ideas is also a crucial character for emergency responders as it enables responders objectively analyze emergencies and incorporate new ideas that are crucial in saving lives.

Apart from these impactful traits, there also exist certain traits that present barriers to emergency responders being effective. Examples of these traits include being assertive of one's ideas and decisions. The implication of this is that one rejects new ideas and becomes blind to critically analyzing an emergency before making decisions. Rigidity is also a barrier to effectiveness as rigid personnel is hard to adapt to new situations or environments and even incorporate new ideas in managing emergencies.

Personally, communication, adaptability, and critical problem, solving are apt skills and traits that I possess essential for emergency scenario management. In the various voluntary positions in disaster management I have served, I was at the core of the strategy formulating and most of them if not all, achieved the desired objectives. The single role I might find challenging is understanding the non-verbal cues utilized by personnel from different cultural backgrounds in emergencies.

References

King, R. V., Larkin, G. L., Fowler, R. L., Downs, D. L., & North, C. S. (2016). Characteristics of effective disaster responders and leaders: a survey of disaster medical practitioners. Disaster medicine and public health preparedness, 10(5), 720-723.

King, R. V., North, C. S., Larkin, G. L., Downs, D. L., Klein, K. R., Fowler, R. L., ... & Pepe, P. E. (2010). Attributes of effective disaster responders: focus group discussions with key emergency response leaders. Disaster medicine and public health preparedness, 4(4), 332-338.

Oldenburger, D., Baumann, A., & Banfield, L. (2017). Characteristics of medical teams in disaster. Prehospital and disaster medicine, 32(2), 195-200.

This the second post from my classmate FAHAD need for response:

When dealing with people who are emotionally depressed in an immediate course, it needs a person with traits that can handle and help in time without themselves getting depressed. So, there are several traits that are necessary to be a DMH responder. Being a passionate helper is one key trait that is needed as a responder. Passion in helping others without getting too emotional in each and every emergency call given. This comes with the experience of having worked in previous critical response units such as an ambulance team. Seeing victims in critical condition and helping them survive without relapsing is quite the rule as a DMH responder.

Disaster mental health works hand in hand with behavioral health; understanding oneself puts one in a much superior position of helping others. Self-love is key to being a DMH provider. Disasters do happen in our day to day life, but a person who has mental issues and denies help might be prone in this area. Once you can help yourself, then it will be natural in helping others who need the same aid. Another necessary trait that a DMH provider needs to have is realness. Authenticity or being real as many can call it is necessary for such a field of work. This is because helping people who are in pain or much worse pain is the order of the day, pretense can't work here (Pfefferbaum, et al, 2012).

Finally, being a knowledgeable person, which is deemed a trait in DMH is vital in handling situations as one will be able to know how to handle each situation differently depending on the risks at hand. This makes a responder be able to identify the risk factors which are essential in disaster mental health. Handling victims and being able to bring them to normalcy despite what they have gone through needs knowledge and experience.

Handling DMH needs attention and sensitivity as it deals with the lives of people, mentally. It is a matter of life and death when it comes to handling victims who are emotionally attached to a situation that happens around them. There are skills and characters in DMH that strip off effectiveness. Too much of empathy when handling disaster response can make a responder too attached and emotional on a crisis hence make irrational decisions that can only make things worse for the victims and even the responder. It brings psychosocial effects that are susceptible to this kind of profession (Ripley, 2009).

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, every person has ‘deficiency needs' as they are termed. There are certain skills I presume I have that will make me be effective in this role as much as there are certain skills I don't possess. Sociability is one trait that will be helpful in DMH as knowing and understanding people is the first thing required to help a victim. This field is demanding and perplexing, which means it requires such personality factors to work things out. Resistance to trauma cases due to more experience that I have is a skill that might make me an effective DMH responder. Not forgetting to mention the character I struggle with that, which might bring a lot of challenges in such a role is indifference and overwork. Knowing that you could do better when things fail haunts my inner thoughts and I suppose holding on such emotion can lead to relapse which as a responder you would have failed.

Psychosocial impacts of a disaster have ignited the world with disaster mental health providers who have stood firm in helping people in times of day in day out disasters in the US and globally. Though there are certain characters that are a must for a DMH responder to have to be effective in the field of work to bring an impact in helping victims in times of need.

References

Pfefferbaum, B., et al. (2012). Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness: The

Integration of Mental and Behavioral Health into Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery. American Medical Association.

Ripley, A. (2009). The unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and why.

Arrow Publications. London.

This the third post from my classmate AHMED need for response:

Disasters often occur without warning, and they extensively affect many people leaving them anxious and upset. For the prevention and care of mental health impacts of disasters, effective disaster mental health response is necessary to sustain and support individuals and communities during such disruptive events (Halpern & Tramontin, 2007). Such a response requires competent responders who have relevant temperaments, skills, and traits essential to provide adequate health care in catastrophic situations. This reflection identifies attributes that distinguish effective and ineffective disaster mental health response.

Effective mental health response that meets the needs of the victims requires capable responders who possess ideal temperaments, character traits, and skills. Responders should demonstrate adaptability, organization skills, sanguine temperament, and flexibility. According to Halpern and Tramontin (2007), no two disasters are alike hence adaptability is an important attribute since responders will face different scenes at different calamities. Thus, it is important to have adaptability skills to assess the psychological health of the victims at specific sites. Besides, disaster scenes are often chaotic; hence, it necessary to possess character traits such as organization skills and flexibility (Pfefferbaum et al., 2012). According to Brown, Acevedo, and Fisher (2013), another attribute of an effective disaster health responder is a sanguine temperament. This trait allows a responder to show compassion and concern to the victims of a disaster.

Some of the barriers to effectiveness include a commitment to principles, phlegmatic temperament, and attention to details. Adhering to the work principles may make a responder avoid taking the right decision when the action is against the operating principles. Another barrier is the phlegmatic temperaments (Brown et al., 2013). People with such a temperament often avoid involvement with others which reduces their ability to effectively attend to the needs of the victims. Failure to pay attention to details of the disaster event can prove to be a challenge for an active response due to the lack of knowledge about the situation that brought about the trauma (Cherry & Jacob, 2016). Additionally, communication skills can also present barriers to an effective response. A mental health responder must involve other responding parties and corporate with these parties to coordinate the response. This makes communication an essential skill in disaster response. Therefore, poor communication can hinder the effectiveness of the response to tragedies.

As a disaster mental health responder, the ideal character trait that would make me effective includes compassion, critical thinking, and problem resolution. I believe I possess empathy, a trait that will enable me to treat victims of disaster with respect and dignity. It will also allow me to meet the specific needs of the victims. Due to the nature and demands of this profession, critical thinking is essential to work under the pressure that comes with the job. Other skills that I have and that would enable me to be an effective mental health responder include adaptability, leadership, and accountability. Another attribute that will help me to succeed in this field is that I have good problem-solving skills. It will enable me to provide the disaster victims with a sense of self-efficacy thereby offering the opportunity to provide emotional support and establish rapport.

In conclusion, disasters are an inevitable part of everyday life, and as a result, require preparedness and competent responders to meet the challenges. To effectively respond to disaster events, disaster mental health responders should have various attributes that would enable them to adequately respond to the mental health needs of individuals and communities. Such competencies include empathy, critical thinking, decision making, adaptability and flexibility, and communication skills.

References

Brown, L. L., Acevedo, B., & Fisher, H. E. (2013). Neural correlates of four broad temperament dimensions: Testing predictions for a novel construct of personality. PloS One, 8(11), e78734.

Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. R. (2016). Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends, & management. Maryland Heights, MO: Elsevier Health Sciences.

Halpern, J., & Tramontin, M. (2007). Disaster mental health: Theory and practice. Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic.

Pfefferbaum, B., Flynn, B. W., Schonfeld, D., Brown, L. M., Jacobs, G. A., Dodgen, D., ... & Reissman, D. B. (2012). The integration of mental and behavioral health into disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 6(1), 60-66.

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Ibrahim,
Such an informative post! I am not surprised by your reactions, in fact I agree, flexibility,
adaptability, composure are necessary traits of a disaster mental health responder. Also,
communication skills are essential and should be incorporated among the character traits. In
times of emergencies, it is important for responders to be focused and calm so as to achieve their
objectives (King et al. 2016). One important issue that stands out in your post is on the barrier to
an effective Disaster Mental Health responder whi...


Anonymous
I was struggling with this subject, and this helped me a ton!

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