(P1-91) Beyond Emergency Care and Compensation: A Study on the Long Term Implications of Firearm Injuries for Psychosocial Well Being

Abstract

The field ‘Public Health in Disasters and Complex Emergencies’ is replete with either epidemiological studies or studies in the area of hospital preparedness and emergency care. The field is dominated by hospital based or emergency phase related literature. The social science perspective to public health is largely missing. It is in this context that the study of 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack Survivors, was carried out. The study is an outcome of the ongoing work with the survivors over a period of two years following the attack. The qualitative study uses a case study approach and focuses on lived experiences of the 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack Survivors who had firearm injuries. The paper highlights the special health issues faced by the survivors, issues of professional competence, hospital preparedness as perceived by the survivors, issues with disability assessments and issues of ill informed care and compensation policies. The paper also explores the interface between health and psychosocial well being two years after the attack and proposes a conceptual framework for understanding psychosocial well being of survivors within a public health perspective.