Emily Goldmann is an expert in looking at factors of mental health. She has a masters and PhD in epidemiology, and is a research assistant professor at NYU. Sandro Galea is a physician and epidemiologist. The two have a great deal of experience in health care and in examining how mental health can be improved or worsened by a variety of additional factors.
This article has been referenced in other articles that study disaster PTSD, mental health after hosting refugees from a disaster, and using epidemolody to help draft policies for disaster response. These papers all further the research and possible benefits for humanity.
“Studies of traumatic event experience have shown that most people who experience an event do not develop psychopathology”
“The field of disaster mental health has strong roots in research on the mental health consequences of war, specifically stemming from the experiences of WWI, WWII and the holocaust.”
“Some studies have observed increases in the use of alcohol, drugs and cigarettes after disaster and some evidence shows that disaster victims use substances, particularly alcohol as a coping strategy.”
The three points I followed up on were women and children’s likelihood of to develop mental illness after a disaster, mental health and hurricane Katrina, and comorbidity.
Emergency response is discussed in the following quote:
"One such intervention, psychological debriefing or critical incident stress debriefing, was developed in the 1980s for emergency responders and has been used with other victims of trauma (46). The technique is applied within 48 h of the traumatic event, during which victims are asked to describe the event and their emotional responses to it in detail. They are also given suggestions of methods to relieve stress (12). Intervention studies, however, have found that this method does not prevent psychopathology and, by strengthening memories of the traumatic event, may impair the natural recovery process and even worsen symptoms (44). Therefore, it is no longer recommended in the immediate aftermath of traumatic event exposure (12, 49)."
This quote shows that the psychological needs of first responders are also considered, not just those of the people who were victims. It shows a weakness in the abilities to heal people afterwards, as this method is no longer recommended. Other methods are being pursued, as the first responders of the world need support and healing too.
Three ways the argument is supported is through descriptions of types of mental illness some may experience after a disaster: MDD,PTSD and substance abuse. Through the description of resilience and how most who experience a disaster tend to bounce back like a rubber band. Finally risk factors are discussed for those who can experience mental illness such as females and children- who are typically more compassionate and worrisome in comparison to other populations.
The report’s bibliography is extensive and the report contains many direct quotes and figures. This indicates the article took a long time to put together and create- increases its credibility and use as a resource in this topic.
This article was primarily supported by it's cited work. It combined and summarized many research reports and other articles. They broke it down into sections that flowed in a reasonable manner and supported each statement with a reference number.
The main findings presented in the article are the stages of mental illnesses after a disaster post, pre and per factors as well as the most common health (mental illness disorders) after a disaster has occurred-such as generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD. The article also discusses that despite events happening only a small percentage of the population experiences these illnesses and a small portion still get treatment. The lack of treatment options is also discussed- it is not readily available after a disaster.
This article has been referenced and discussed by health professionals annually , as well as by the government to establish a need to address mental illness after disasters.