Nongovernmental organizations and the role of the mental health professional

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511544415.011

10 - Nongovernmental organizations and the role of the mental health professional

from Part III - Clinical care and interventions

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 August 2009

Edited by

Lars Weisaeth and

Joop de Jong: Affiliation:
Director of Public Health & Research Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Keizersgracht 329 1016EE Amsterdam The Netherlands
Robert J. Ursano: Affiliation:
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Maryland
Carol S. Fullerton: Affiliation:
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Maryland
Lars Weisaeth: Affiliation:
Universitetet i Oslo
Beverley Raphael: Affiliation:
University of Western Sydney

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Summary

Introduction

A disaster is a serious event that causes an ecological breakdown in the relationship between humans and their environment on a scale that requires extraordinary efforts to allow the community to cope, and often requires outside help or international aid (Lechat, 1990; Noji, 1997). Berren et al. (1980) mention five factors that can be used conceptually to distinguish one disaster from another: (1) type of disaster: human-made or natural; (2) duration; (3) degree of personal impact; (4) potential of recurrence; and (5) control over future impact. In natural disasters, a natural hazard affects a population or area and may result in severe damage and destruction and increased morbidity and mortality that overwhelm local coping capacity. Similarly, in human-made disasters such as complex emergencies, wars or terrorist attacks, mortality among the civilian population substantially increases above the population baseline mortality, either as a result of the direct effects of war or conflict, or indirectly through the increased prevalence of malnutrition and/or transmission of communicable diseases, especially if the latter result from deliberate political and military policies and strategies (Salama et al., 2004). In 2000, an estimated 1.6 million people worldwide died as a result of violence, and one-fifth were war related (World Health Organization, 2002b). As Chapter 2 shows, mental morbidity increases too, and varying risk groups need additional attention as well as preventative efforts to alleviate their plight.

Keywords

mental health professionals non-governmental organizations post-conflict work socioeconomic group vulnerability factors

Type: Chapter
Information: Textbook of Disaster Psychiatry , pp. 206 - 224

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511544415.011 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2007

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10 - Nongovernmental organizations and the role of the mental health professional

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