People in Disasters Conference - A Systematic Review of Compassion Fatigue…

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of a presentation by Jai Chung during the Staff and Patients Stream of the 2016 People in Disasters Conference. The presentation is titled, "A Systematic Review of Compassion Fatigue of Nurses During and After the Canterbury Earthquakes".The abstract for the presentation reads as follows: Limited research is currently available about compassion fatigue of health professionals during and after disasters in New Zealand. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to provide a comprehensive outline of existing research. National and international literature was compared and contrasted to determine the importance of recognising compassion fatigue during and after disasters. Health professionals responding to disasters have played an important role in saving lives. Especially, during and after the Canterbury earthquakes, many health professionals cared for the traumatized public of the region. When responding to and caring for many distressed people, health professionals - particularly nurses - may strongly empathise with people's pain, fear, and distress. Consequently, they can be affected both emotionally and physically. Nurses may experience intensive and extreme distress and trauma directly and indirectly. Physical exhaustion can arise quickly. Emotional exhaustion such as hopelessness and helplessness may lead to nurses losing the ability to nurture and care for people during disasters. This can lead to compassion fatigue. It is important to understand how health professionals, especially nurses, experience compassion fatigue in order to help them respond to disasters appropriately. International literature explains the importance of recognising compassion fatigue in nursing, and explores different coping mechanisms that assist nurses overcome or prevent this health problem. In contrast, New Zealand literature is limited to experiences of nurses' attitudes in responding to natural disasters. In light of this, this literature review will help to raise awareness about the importance of recognising and addressing symptoms of compassion fatigue in a profession such as nursing. Gaps within the research will also be identified along with recommendations for future research in this area, especially from a New Zealand perspective. Please note that due to a recording error the sound cuts out at 9 minutes.

People in Disasters Conference - Medical Clowning in Disaster Zones

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of a presentation by Thomas Petschner during the Resilience and Response Stream of the 2016 People in Disasters Conference. The presentation is titled, "Medical Clowning in Disaster Zones".The abstract for this presentation reads as follows: To be in a crisis caused by different kinds of natural disasters (as well as a man made incidents), dealing with ongoing increase of problems and frequent confrontation with very bad news isn't something that many people can easily cope with. This applies obviously to affected people but also to the members of SAR teams, doctors in the field and the experienced humanitarians too. The appropriate use of humour in crisis situations and dis-functional environments is a great tool to make those difficult moments more bearable for everyone. It helps injured and traumatised people cope with what they're facing, and can help them to recover more quickly too. At the same time humorous thinking can help to solve some of the complex problems emergency responders face. This is in addition to emergency and medical only reactions - allowing for a more holistic human perspective, which can provide a positive lasting effect. The ability to laugh is hardwired into our systems bringing a huge variety of physical, mental and social benefits. Even a simple smile can cultivate optimism and hope, while laughter can boost a hormone cocktail - which helps to cope with pain, enhance the immune system, reduce stress, re-focus, connect and unite people during difficult times. Humour as an element of psychological response in crisis situations is increasingly understood in a much wider sense: as the human capacity to plan and achieve desired outcomes with less stress, thus resulting in more 'predictable' work in unpredictable situations. So, if we approach certain problems in the same way Medical Clowns do, we may find a more positive solution. Everyone knows that laughter is an essential component of a healthy, happy life. The delivery of 'permission to laugh' into disaster zones makes a big difference to the quality of life for everyone, even if it's for a very short, but important period of time. And it's crucial to get it right as there is no second chance for the first response.