Health Risks and Challenges in Earthquake Responders in Nepal: A Qualitative Research.

INTRODUCTION: While the impact of disasters is strongly felt by those directly affected, they also have significant impact on the mental and physical health of rescue/relief workers and volunteers during the response phase of disaster management. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 experts in the field of disaster management from Nepal, inquiring specifically about the impact of the 2015 mega-earthquake on the mental and physical health of rescue/relief workers and volunteers. A thematic approach was used to analyze the results. These were used to assess the applicability of a previously developed conceptual framework which illustrates the hazards and risk factors affecting disaster response workers and the related hazard mitigation approaches. RESULTS: The findings suggested a relationship between the type of injuries to responders and the type of disaster, type of responder, and vulnerability of location. The conceptual framework derived from literature was verified for its applicability with a slight revision on analysis of experts' opinion based on particular context and disaster setting. Technical skills of responders, social stigma, governance, and the socio-economic status of the affected nation were identified as critical influencing factors to heath injuries and could be minimized utilizing some specific or collective measures targeted at the aforementioned variables. Some geographic and weather-specific risks may be challenging to overcome. CONCLUSION: To prevent or minimize the hazards for disaster relief workers, it is vital to understand the variables that contribute to injuries. Risk minimization strategies should address these critical factors.

Health Risks in Disaster Responders: A Conceptual Framework.

INTRODUCTION: Disasters cause severe disruption to socio-economic, infrastructural, and environmental aspects of community and nation. While the impact of disasters is strongly felt by those directly affected, they also have significant impacts on the mental and physical health of relief/recovery workers and volunteers. Variations in the nature and scale of disasters necessitate different approaches to risk management and hazard reduction during the response and recovery phases. METHOD: Published articles (2010-2017) on the quantitative and quantitative relationship between disasters and the physical and mental health of relief/recovery workers and volunteers were systematically collected and reviewed. A total of 162 relevant studies were identified. Physical injuries and mental health impacts were categorized into immediate, short-term, and chronic conditions. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken to explore the health risks and injuries encountered by disaster relief workers and volunteers, and to identify the factors contributing to these and relating mitigation strategies. RESULTS: There were relatively few studies into this issue. However, the majority of the scrutinized articles highlighted the dependence of nature and scope of injuries with the disaster type and the types of responders, while the living and working environment and socio-economic standing also had significant influence on health outcomes. CONCLUSION: A conceptual framework derived from the literature review clearly illustrated several critical elements that directly or indirectly cause damage to physical and mental health of disaster responders. Pre-disaster and post-disaster risk mitigation approaches may be employed to reduce the vulnerability of both volunteers and workers while understanding the identified stressors and their relationships.Khatri KC J, Fitzgerald G, Poudyal Chhetri MB. Health risks in disaster responders: a conceptual framework. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2019;34(2):209-216.