Dataset Information

Understanding disaster resilience in communities affected by recurrent drought in Lesotho and Swaziland-A qualitative study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Lesotho and Swaziland experience intense, recurring drought resulting in disaster situations. Despite the recurrence of drought, both its influence on rural subsistence communities' support systems and the actions that enable structures of resilience remain poorly understood. Each incidence of drought stimulates a disaster resilience discussion that stalls without achievement of positive results until the next disaster. This study has examined the influence of recurring drought on communities' inherent resilience and proposes an evidence-based framework to enhance community resilience. METHODS:Data were collected from 16 focus group discussions (N = 197) in the Highveld, Midveld and Lowveld agro-ecological regions of Swaziland and Lesotho. Themes and subthemes have been identified, defined, categorised and narrated using structuration theory as a guide. RESULTS:Resilience activities were found to be characterised by knowledgeability and changes in behaviour in adapting and applying appropriate actions, all of which were enhanced by institutional support. The effectiveness of institutional support hinged on harnessing communities' knowledge, social groups, value systems, connectedness, participation, decision-making and collectivism. CONCLUSION:Large-scale interventions to build and strengthen resilience are urgently needed in order to maintain cohesiveness and development gains, especially because rural subsistence farmers make up the majority of these two countries' populations. Policies that integrate resilience with national development planning must be urgently developed and executed.

SUBMITTER: Kamara JK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6396921 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Understanding disaster resilience in communities affected by recurrent drought in Lesotho and Swaziland-A qualitative study.

Kamara Joseph K JK Agho Kingsley K Renzaho Andre M N AMN

PloS one 20190301 3

<h4>Background</h4>Lesotho and Swaziland experience intense, recurring drought resulting in disaster situations. Despite the recurrence of drought, both its influence on rural subsistence communities' support systems and the actions that enable structures of resilience remain poorly understood. Each incidence of drought stimulates a disaster resilience discussion that stalls without achievement of positive results until the next disaster. This study has examined the influence of recurring drough ...[more]

PMID: 30822335

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Project description:Disasters are a recurring fact of life, and major incidents can have both immediate and long-lasting negative effects on the health and well-being of people, communities, and economies. A primary goal of many disaster preparedness, response, and recovery plans is to reduce the likelihood and severity of disaster impacts through increased resilience of individuals and communities. Unfortunately, most plans do not address directly major drivers of long-term disaster impacts on humans-that is, acute, chronic, and cumulative stress-and therefore do less to enhance resilience than they could. Stress has been shown to lead to or exacerbate ailments ranging from mental illness, domestic violence, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorders, and suicide to cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems, and other infirmities. Individuals, groups, communities, organizations, and social ties are all vulnerable to stress. Based on a targeted review of what we considered to be key literature about disasters, resilience, and disaster-associated stress effects, we recommend eight actions to improve resiliency through inclusion of stress alleviation in disaster planning: (1) Improve existing disaster behavioral and physical health programs to better address, leverage, and coordinate resources for stress reduction, relief, and treatment in disaster planning and response. (2) Emphasize pre- and post-disaster collection of relevant biomarker and other health-related data to provide a baseline of health status against which disaster impacts could be assessed, and continued monitoring of these indicators to evaluate recovery. (3) Enhance capacity of science and public health early-responders. (4) Use natural infrastructure to minimize disaster damage. (5) Expand the geography of disaster response and relief to better incorporate the displacement of affected people. (6) Utilize nature-based treatment to alleviate pre- and post-disaster stress effects on health. (7) Review disaster laws, policies, and regulations to identify opportunities to strengthen public health preparedness and responses including for stress-related impacts, better engage affected communities, and enhance provision of health services. (8) With community participation, develop and institute equitable processes pre-disaster for dealing with damage assessments, litigation, payments, and housing.

Project description:BackgroundClimate change has been shown to have long-term effects on mental health, yet, to date, there have been few studies on how children and adolescents experience and respond to ecological changes and how and why they engage in climate action. We explored empirically young people's views about climate change and how distinct cultural contexts influence individual climate action.MethodsWe invited children and adolescents (ages 7 to 18) and their caregivers from the general population in the United States and France to participate in semi-structured focus groups. We recruited 74 participants, 39 in the U.S. (33 children and adolescents, 6 parents) and 35 in France (32 children and adolescents, 3 parents). Focus groups with participants centered on their emotions, beliefs, and actions around climate change. We analyzed the focus group data and developed themes via grounded theory and symbolic interactionist approaches.ResultsMany participants described experiencing anger, hopelessness, guilt, and sadness in response to climate change, and a smaller number endorsed significant anxiety symptoms; many described frustration about needing to fix the mistakes of earlier generations. Younger participants frequently misunderstood the purpose of their parents' eco-conscious behaviors unless they were provided with age-appropriate explanations. Participants described a spectrum of experiences when trying to discuss climate change with peers and family, ranging from genuine support to apathy to hostility. Between the two samples, U.S. participants experienced more conflict with adults about climate change than French participants, but French participants described a greater lack of political agency compared to U.S.ParticipantsParticipants in both samples expressed a relatively balanced view of climate action, recognizing the significance of individual actions while acknowledging the limits of their power in the face of systemic issues. Some found hope and empowerment through climate action and building communities around it.ConclusionDiscussing with children and adolescents what adults are doing to mitigate climate change can provide reassurance, model prosocial behaviors, and inspire their own investment in climate action. Adults seeking to support the psychological well-being of young people should both support their concerns and actions around climate change and create avenues for young people to meaningfully engage in climate action.

Project description:BackgroundThe exposure of people and infrastructure to flood and storm related disasters across the world is increasing faster than vulnerability is decreasing. For people with non-communicable diseases this presents a significant risk as traditionally the focus of disaster management systems has been on immediate trauma and communicable diseases. This focus must now be expanded to include the management of non-communicable diseases because these conditions are generating the bulk of ill health, disability and premature death around the globe. When public health service infrastructure is destroyed or damaged access to treatment and care is severely jeopardised, resulting in an increased risk of non-communicable disease exacerbation or even death. This research proposes disaster responders, coordinators and government officials are vital assets to mitigate and eventually prevent these problems from being exacerbated during a disaster. This is due to their role in supporting the public health service infrastructure required to maximise treatment and care for people with non-communicable diseases. By focusing on the disaster cycle as a template, and on mitigation and prevention phases in particular, these actions and activities performed by disaster service responders will lead to overall improved preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation phases.MethodsData were collected via 32 interviews and one focus group (eight participants) between March 2014 and August 2015 (total of 40 participants). The research was conducted in the State of Queensland, Australia, with disaster service providers. The analysis included the phases of: organizing data; data description; data classification; and interpretation.ResultsThe research found a relationship between the impact of a disaster on public health service infrastructure, and increased health risks for people with non-communicable diseases. Mitigation strategies were described for all phases of the disaster cycle impacting public health service infrastructure. Specific measures include: increasing the use of telemedicine; preplanning with medical suppliers; effective town planning; health professionals visiting evacuation centers; evacuation centers having power for medical equipment; hubs for treatment and care after a disaster; evacuation of high risk people prior to disaster; mapping people at risk by non-communicable disease; and a mechanism for sharing information between agencies. A common theme from the participants was that having accurate and easily accessible data on people with non-communicable diseases would allow disaster service providers to adequately prepare for and respond to a disaster.ConclusionsDisaster service providers can play a vital role in reducing the risk of disaster exacerbated non-communicable diseases through public health service infrastructure resilience. They are often employed in communities where disasters occur and are therefore best-placed to lead implementation of the mitigation strategies identified in this research. To sustainably implement the mitigation strategies they will need to become integrated into effective performance and monitoring of the disaster response and health sector during non-disaster periods. For this to occur, the strategies should be integrated into business and strategic plans. Achieving this will help implement the Sendia Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and, most importantly, help protect the health of people with non-communicable diseases before, during and after a disaster.

Dataset Information

Understanding disaster resilience in communities affected by recurrent drought in Lesotho and Swaziland-A qualitative study.

Publications

Understanding disaster resilience in communities affected by recurrent drought in Lesotho and Swaziland-A qualitative study.

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