Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T17:43:28.615Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

School-Based Disaster Recovery: Promotion of Children’s Mental Health Over the Long Haul

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2017

Elizabeth Peacock-Chambers Open the ORCID record for Elizabeth Peacock-Chambers [Opens in a new window] ,
Pilar del Canto ,
Douglas Ahlers ,
Mario Valdivia Peralta  and
Judith Palfrey
Elizabeth Peacock-Chambers
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School Baystate Campus, Springfield, Massachusetts
Pilar del Canto
Affiliation:
Recupera Chile, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Douglas Ahlers
Affiliation:
Program on Crisis Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Mario Valdivia Peralta
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile
Judith Palfrey*
Affiliation:
Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Judith Palfrey, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115 (e-mail: [email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The February 2010 earthquake and tsunamis destroyed 80% of the coastal town of Dichato, Chile, displacing over 400 families for nearly 4 years. The coalition Recupera Chile (RC) participated in the town’s integrated recovery process from January 2011 to the present with a focus on children’s mental health. The multidisciplinary RC coalition emphasized community-led post-disaster recovery, economic capacity rebuilding, and community health promotion (www.recuperachile.org). RC’s child health team fostered partnerships between the local elementary school, health clinic, Universidad de Concepcion, and Boston Children’s Hospital. The team responded to priorities identified by the town with a three-pronged approach of (1) case management, (2) resource development, and (3) monitoring and evaluation. This work resulted in the development of a model school-based program: La Escuela Basada en Realidad, which encompassed (1) health and mental health, (2) language and literacy, and (3) love of the sea. Post-disaster programs targeting mental health require a multi-year approach that extends beyond the completion of the physical reconstruction. Recovery is an organic process that cannot be prescripted and depends on solutions that emerge from the community. Finally, partnerships between schools and universities can foster resiliency and sustainability of programs for children and families. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:633–636)

Keywords

community mental health servicesearthquakesinternational cooperation
Type
Report from the Field
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 11 , Issue 5 , October 2017 , pp. 633 - 636
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. La Greca, A, Silverman, WK, Vernberg, EM, et al. Symptoms of posttraumatic stress in children after Hurricane Andrew: a prospective study. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1996;64(4):712-723. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.64.4.712.Google Scholar
2. Lonigan, CJ, Shannon, MP, Taylor, CM, et al. Children exposed to disaster: II. Risk factors for the development of post-traumatic symptomatology. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1994;33(1):94-105. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199401000-00013.Google Scholar
3. Goenjian, AK, Pynoos, RS, Steinberg, AM, et al. Psychiatric comorbidity in children after the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1995;34(9):1174-1184. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199509000-00015.Google Scholar
4. Kar, N, Bastia, BK. Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and generalised anxiety disorder in adolescents after a natural disaster: a study of comorbidity. Clin Pract Epidemol Ment Health. 2006;2(1):17. https://doi.org/10.1186/1745-0179-2-17.Google Scholar
5. Sastry, N, VanLandingham, M. One year later: mental illness prevalence and disparities among New Orleans residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Am J Public Health. 2009;99(S3)(suppl 3):S725-S731. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.174854.Google Scholar
6. Najarian, LM, Goenjian, AK, Pelcovitz, D, et al. The effect of relocation after a natural disaster. J Trauma Stress. 2001;14(3):511-526. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011108622795.Google Scholar
7. Salloum, A, Carter, P, Burch, B, et al. Impact of exposure to community violence, Hurricane Katrina, and Hurricane Gustav on posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms among school age children. Anxiety Stress Coping. 2011;24(1):27-42. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615801003703193.Google Scholar
8. McFarlane, AC, Policansky, SK, Irwin, C. A longitudinal study of the psychological morbidity in children due to a natural disaster. Psychol Med. 1987;17(3):727-738. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291700025964.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9. Bokszczanin, A. Parental support, family conflict, and overprotectiveness: predicting PTSD symptom levels of adolescents 28 months after a natural disaster. Anxiety Stress Coping. 2008;21(4):325-335. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615800801950584.Google Scholar
10. La Greca, AM, Lai, BS, Llabre, MM, et al. Children’s postdisaster trajectories of PTS symptoms: predicting chronic distress. Child Youth Care Forum. 2013;42(4):351-369. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-013-9206-1.Google Scholar
11. Cova, F, Valdivia, M, Rincón, P, et al. Estrés postraumático en población infantojuvenil post 27F. Rev Chil Pediatr. 2013;84(1):32-41. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0370-41062013000100004.Google Scholar
12. A Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management: Principles, Themes, and Pathways for Action. FEMA website. http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1813-25045-0649/whole_community_dec2011__2_.pdf. Published 2011. Accessed June 15, 2016.Google Scholar
13. Cutter, SL, Finch, C. Temporal and spatial changes in social vulnerability to natural hazards. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008;105(7):2301-2306. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0710375105.Google Scholar
14. Betancourt, TS, Fawzi, MK, Bruderlein, C, et al. Children affected by HIV/AIDS: SAFE, a model for promoting their security, health, and development. Psychol Health Med. 2010;15(3):243-265. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548501003623997.Google Scholar
15. SDQ Frequency Distribution for American 4-7 year olds. Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) website. http://www.sdqinfo.com/norms/USNorm.html. Published 2001. Accessed October 4, 2016.Google Scholar