Read the CDC report on Mental Illness and Disaster Preparedness found at http://cretscmhd.psych.ucla.edu/nola/Video/MHR?Gov…
References

Math, S., Nirmala, M., Moirangthem, S. and Kumar, N. (2015). Disaster management: Mental health perspective. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 37(3), p.261.
McFarlane, A. and Williams, R. (2012). Mental health services required after disasters: Learning from the lasting effects of disasters. Depression Research and Treatment, 2012, pp.1-13.
Roudini, J., Khankeh, H. and Witruk, E. (2017). Disaster mental health preparedness in the community: A systematic review study. Health Psychology Open, 4(1), p.205510291771130.
Discussion Board :-
Offer either a supporting or refuting argument to one of your classmate’s discussions from last week.  Conduct a search of materials on the internet to find your points of discussion.  Use these in your discussion and cite them correctly.
I will upload 2 of my classmate’s discussions and you can choose one of them.
Discuss the unique emergency preparedness needs of patients with emotional and
psychiatric patients.
Preparing for an emergency for emotional and psychiatric needy patients is a difficult task that
requires special attention and care. The questions to consider when preparing for these special
cases are how the medication regimens can be availed and maintained during and after
evacuation? How care providers can treat emotional responses in a manner that is distinct to the
patients’ health history. Having care providers who are trained to offer advanced supportive
disaster behavioral health interventions should be paramount for such a disaster response
plan (World Health Organization, 2019). Additionally, provision for potential functional needs
for psychiatric patients which include communication, medical care, independence, and
transportation should be considered. Finally, this is not a one-man job or a single organization.
Coordination among agencies is key to caring for psychiatric patients. The more agencies on
board, the more the expertise hence the better the care.
State why this is so difficult for us to manage.
Normally, it is difficult to care for emotional and psychiatric patients, it is much more difficult
during a disaster. These are individuals who depend on close family and caregivers for virtually
every aspect of their lives. For care providers who are inept in dealing with such cases will most
likely have communication barriers. Additionally, these patients have huge insecurities when
dealing with strangers (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2019).
They have fears and often result in recluse behavior or turn violent making it difficult for
emergency responders to handle them. Therefore, giving care to patients with high emotional
needs and psychiatric patients requires special and unique care. Incorporating highly skilled and
experienced people to care for them is at the heart of a good emergency response plan.
References
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration . (2019). Disaster Technical
Assistance Center Supplemental Research Bulletin. Disasters and People With
Serious Mental Illness, 1-15.
World Health Organization . (2019, June 11). Mental Health in Emergencies . Retrieved from
World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mentalhealth-in-emergencies
Dealing with patients with mental problems is marred with emotional, social, and clinical
challenges. Notably, it becomes more challenging to manage, especially when emergencies arise.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services (1996), patients with emotional
and psychiatric needs are often stigmatized due to their primary condition. Many times, when
disaster strikes, they are thought of being different from the general population. At such times,
they equally desire restoration like any other person. The trauma after a disaster on this
population may have a long-lasting effect, compared to the general population.
As preparedness measures to cater to them, the Federation Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) provides funds to deal with the psychological effects of disasters. The funds
alone are not adequate to address the effect on people with psychiatric requirements; hence the
need for unique preparedness arises for the people who stand to suffer more from disaster-related
trauma.
According to Birkhead and Vermeulen (2018), immediate responses are necessary for
deterring post-traumatic disorders. The services should, therefore, be available, accessible,
affordable and acceptable by the patients. However, not all patients access the services as soon as
they need to. It is necessary to put in place plans from the lowest unit, the family and
community. The community needs training on preparation for and recovery from catastrophes
for people with psychiatric needs, to create awareness of measures possible to be taken. Due to
the dynamic nature of disasters, however, the approach requires to be flexible, which may not
always be the case.
The services should be packaged in a non-stigmatizing, to encourage the patients to seek
assistance. The service provider should adjust the service depending on the needs of the patient.
Integration of the emergency response plan should be done, to link up the patients with
specialized service providers for any special cases. Conclusively, psychological first aid actions,
applied the right way, help to mitigate mass casualty incidences. They make victims more
comfortable, which is often the immediate need that allows for the expression of the current
feeling. This relieves anxiety and creates room to assess the trauma level and impact.
References
US Department of Health and Human Services. (1996). Responding to the needs of people with
serious and persistent mental illness in times of major disaster (Publication (SMA) 963077). Washington, DC: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Birkhead, G. S., & Vermeulen, K. (2018). Sustainability of Psychological First Aid Training for
the Disaster Response Workforce. American journal of public health, 108(S5), S381–S382.
doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304643

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