ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to quantify the six dimensions of obstacles to disaster behavioral health (DBH), which was explored through the previous Qualitative Content Analysis of field workers' experiences after the Sewol Ferry accident and to determine the preference and significance of the details of every dimension. METHODS: Based on the six dimensions and their details, structured questionnaires were devised. The field workers as DBH service providers were requested to choose not only the most urgent item but also the reason for their choice. For the statistical analysis, the field workers were grouped by age, employment period, place of employment, occupation, mental health professional certificate, and experience and education of DBH interventions. Differences of the groups were analyzed using chi-square test. RESULTS: The questionnaires were distributed to 284 field workers for DBH, and a total of 79 usable questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Out of six dimensions, 43% of the field workers primarily suffered from difficulties in vertical relations of the administration system. Vague policy on DBH was the most challenging in difficulties in vertical relations of administration system (32.9%). The details of the other 5 dimensions were also discovered. Several significant differences were identified among groups according to the structured questionnaires. CONCLUSION: This study identifies the six dimensions and their significance as obstacles to DBH services. It may make a contribution to improving laws and systems when deciding on related policies and sorting out urgent problems.