Wellness Warriors: a qualitative exploration of healthcare staff learning to support their colleagues in the aftermath of the Australian bushfires

PURPOSE

Healthcare staff are on the frontline during disasters despite any personal adversity and vicarious trauma they may be experiencing. Wellness Warrior training is a post-disaster intervention developed in response to the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires to support staff in a rural hospital located on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia.

METHOD

This study explored the experiences and perspectives of 18 healthcare staff who were trained to provide emotional and peer support to their colleagues in the aftermath of a crisis. All the Wellness Warriors participated in semi-structured interviews between March and April 2020. Data were analysed using the reflexive thematic approach.

RESULTS

Healthcare staff reported developing interpersonal skills around deep listening and connecting with others which allowed for hearing the core of their colleagues' concerns. The training also helped staff to feel differently about work and restored their faith in healthcare leadership.

CONCLUSION

Wellness Warrior training provided staff with knowledge and skills to support their colleagues in the aftermath of a natural disaster and later during the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, these findings suggest that peer support programs such as Wellness Warriors could be one way healthcare organisations can attempt to alleviate the psychological impact of natural disasters.

Paranirvar mānis (dependent people)? Rethinking humanitarian dependency syndrome: a Bourdieusian perspective

Disaster survivors are often criticised for being dependent on humanitarian (and development) assistance. This dependency is perceived pejoratively by civil servants and other elites, including non-governmental organisation staff. Officials offered up such narratives in relation to the disaster response and recovery programmes following the Nepal earthquake of 2015. Using a Bourdieusian framework, and undertaking qualitative inquiry in four earthquake-affected districts of Nepal, this paper contrasts the official narratives of dependency syndrome with people's perspectives and lived experiences. The findings problematise official discourse. Aid was frequently insufficient, poorly targeted, or non-existent. Moreover, the Bourdieusian framing highlights the agency of survivors, as their habitus predisposed them to help others. It broadens the notion of assistance and dependence, suggesting that social and cultural (as well as economic) capital are vital resources for recovery. Lastly, it shows that dependencies are not necessarily bad. Greater attention to these non-economic capitals and 'good dependencies' could expedite recovery from future disasters.

Redefining shelter: humanitarian sheltering

Shelter is one of the most 'intractable problems' in humanitarian aid and yet there is little clarity on an overarching definition. Terminology for shelter and housing is often conflated, and the most prominent definition does not fully reflect recent progress in the Shelter and Settlements Sector. This paper explores the varying terminology utilised in definitions of shelter within humanitarian aid since 1990, reflecting on the concepts of 'shelter' and 'housing', alongside surrounding perceptions of 'house' versus 'home', and related measures of adequacy. The current, most prolific definition is also deconstructed, demonstrating ambiguity in some of terminology such as 'dignity' and 'privacy', and revealing that interpretation of this definition depends on the reader's knowledge. Lastly, a new definition of 'sheltering' is proposed, encompassing five key reflections: the concept of process over object; the inclusion of communities and individuals; the commonality of long-term sheltering; the wider effects of shelter; and the impacts on host communities and environment.

The utility of on-site ultrasound screening in population at high risk for deep venous thrombosis in temporary housing after the great East Japan Earthquake

BACKGROUND

To evaluate the diagnostic performance of ultrasonography for screening of a population at risk for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in a post-disaster setting.

METHODS

Ultrasonography was applied as a screening technique to the residents of a temporary housing facility who were displaced following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Thirty DVT screening sessions were held from April 2013 to June 2015. Individuals were invited to participate if they were identified as "high risk" for DVT, defined as those with low activity levels, a history of lower limb trauma, baseline lower limb pain or swelling, a cancer-bearing status, or a history of venous thromboembolic event. Ultrasonographic examinations were performed from the calf to the popliteal veins using portable devices.

RESULTS

Of the 3,316 subjects screened (682 men and 2,634 women) with a mean age of 71 ± 9.7 years, DVT was diagnosed in 382 (11.5%). DVT was more likely in older, symptomatic, or female patients with a history of venous thromboembolism and attempting to perform daily exercise. The rate of DVT diagnosis increased from 9.9% in 2013 to 13.5% in 2015.

CONCLUSIONS

Ultrasonography is efficient for screening at-risk populations in challenging settings. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 45:566-574, 2017.