Michal Ben Gal
קמחי שאול, מרציאנו הדס ואשל יוחנן - המרכז לדחק וחוסן, החוג לפסיכולוגיה, המכללה האקדמית תל-חי; עדיני ברוריה - החוג לניהול מצבי חירום ואסון, בית הספר לבריאות הציבור הפקולטה לרפואה ע"ש סאקלר, אוניברסיטת תל-אביב
תקציר:
בעקבות סבב "חגורה שחורה" שנערך ברצועת עזה, התקיים מחקר בקרב מדגם אקראי של 508 תושבי עוטף עזה במגמה לאמוד את החוסן הקהילתי והלאומי של תושבי האזור שהיו חשופים לנפילת טילים. הממצאים הושוו למחקרים קודמים שבוצעו בקרב מדגם ארצי (בשנת 2018) ומדגם אוכלוסיה במועצה אזורית גליל עליון (בשנת 2019). עיקרי הממצאים הראו כי: א. ממוצע החוסן הקהילתי במדגם תושבי עוטף עזה גבוה באופן מובהק בהשוואה לממוצע החוסן הקהילתי במדגם הארצי. ב. ככול שהנחקרים מדווחים על עמדות פוליטיות יותר שמאליות, גיל צעיר יותר, השתייכות לקהילה קטנה יותר, תחושה רבה יותר של מוגנות בבית, תחושות סכנה וחוסן לאומי גבוהים יותר, כך תפיסת החוסן הקהילתי גבוהה יותר. ג. בניגוד לחוסן הקהילתי הגבוה שנמצא בקרב תושבי הדרום, ממוצע החוסן הלאומי במדגם הדרום נמוך באופן מובהק, בהשוואה לממוצע החוסן הלאומי במדגם הארצי. ממצאי המחקר הנוכחי מראים שככול שהנבדק חש מוגן יותר בביתו, גילו גבוה יותר, מידת הדתיות שלו גבוהה יותר והוא נוטה יותר לעמדות פוליטיות יותר ימניות, כך תפיסת החוסן הלאומי גבוהה יותר. מעניין לציין, שמבין מנבאי החוסן הלאומי, תחושת המוגנות בבית היא המנבא השני הכי טוב מבין המשתנים שנכללו במשוואה. ד. תחושות הסכנה בקרב נחקרי מדגם הדרום גבוהות באופן מובהק מתחושות הסכנה במדגם הארצי. מעבר לכך, נמצא ככל שהפרט מתגורר בקהילה קטנה יותר (ובמידת מה גם שיתופית יותר), בעל תפיסת חוסן קהילתי גבוהה יותר ותפיסת חוסן לאומי נמוכה יותר, תחושת הסכנה נמוכה יותר, אף אם הוא מתגורר בישוב הקרוב יותר לגבול. ראוי לציין כי תחושות הסכנה הן המשתנה שבו נמצאו ההבדלים הגדולים ביותר בין תושבי עוטף עזה לבין תושבי מועצה אזורית גליל עליון והמדגם הארצי.
שתי שאלות נוספות נכללו במחקר זה: "באיזו מידה חשת, במהלך הסבב האחרון, שמדינת ישראל תומכת ועוזרת לתושבי הדרום שחוו ירי רקטות?" ו"באיזו מידה חשת שמדינת ישראל תומכת ועוזרת לתושבי הדרום בין סבבי הלחימה?" התוצאות הראו כי כשני שלישים מהנחקרים חשבו שרמת התמיכה בשני המקרים הייתה נמוכה או נמוכה מאד. ממצא מדאיג נוסף הראה כי ככול שהנחקרים מתגוררים בקרבה גדולה יותר לגבול, כך הם מדווחים על תחושה רבה יותר שאינם זוכים לתמיכה מהמדינה.
Bibliographic details:
Finkelstein, A., & Finkelstein, I. (2018). Emergency preparedness–The perceptions and experiences of people with disabilities. Disability and rehabilitation, 1-11.
Abstract:
Background: A population well-prepared for mass emergencies will respond better in real-time crisis and will be less exposed to the negative effects caused by the event. Our aim was to learn about the ways in which people with disabilities perceive emergencies and to understand their needs in preparing for these situations.
Methods: Sixteen semistructured in-depth interviews were held with 17 people with disabilities (motor, sensory or mental) (One interview was with a pair who chose to be interviewed together). The analysis was conducted using the phenomenological approach.
Results: Participants had not made any particular preparation for managing emergencies. Their approach was fatalistic, given their strong dependence on people and machines. They expressed their general distrust of the authorities’ ability to address their needs in an emergency. Even individuals with the same disability presented a variety of needs.
Conclusions: To properly address the vulnerability of people with disabilities in emergencies, professionals need a better understanding of their individual way of life in routine times and to find ways to empower them to become involved in their own emergency preparedness. The needs of people with disabilities should be considered in terms of space and time, as well as by categories of disability.
Bibliographic details:
Shapira, S., Feder-Bubis, P., Clarfield, A. M., & Aharonson-Daniel, L. (2019). Bridging information gaps: The path to optimal care for medically vulnerable populations following large-scale public health emergencies. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 41, 101319.
Abstract:
Medically vulnerable individuals such as the frail elderly and the chronically ill are at particular risk of experiencing adverse health outcomes especially during and following emergencies. In crisis situations the healthcare system is expected to be overwhelmed by an influx of casualties while also facing a shortfall of resources, impeding its ability to maintain continuity of care for frail individuals. This study identified potential gaps in the interface between vulnerable individuals' needs following emergencies, and local healthcare and municipal resources and plans to meet them. In order to bridge these gaps and improve response capacity, an information sharing model linking local institutions was constructed using a GIS-based tool. The model offers a rapid and efficient framework for managing data flow regarding the location and needs of vulnerable populations, enabling a proactive approach in post-disaster care and implementation of targeted relief tasks. Additionally, it can serve as a tool for decision makers in emergency planning and for resource control and allocation. Maintaining continuity of care for vulnerable individuals is a universal concern; the suggested model can be adapted by communities around the world in order to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable individuals in times of crisis.
Webpage: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420919301669
Bibliographic details:
Shapira, S., Aharonson‐Daniel, L., Clarfield, A. M., & Feder‐Bubis, P. (2019). Giving a voice to medically vulnerable populations: A mixed‐methods investigation of their unique perceptions and needs in emergency situations. Health & Social Care in the Community.
Abstract:
Older adults in poor health represent a growing sector of the population worldwide. These medically vulnerable individuals often tend to be ill‐prepared for emergencies. In times of crisis they are at higher risk of experiencing adverse health outcomes and are liable to place an additional burden on health and social care services. The aim of this study was to explore the unique perceptions and diverse needs of community‐dwelling medically vulnerable individuals in Israel in order to gain insights that could be used to promote future preparedness. A mixed methods design was employed that included 16 in‐depth interviews, followed by a quantitative survey of 179 participants. Data were collected between 2016 and 2017. The analysis process included thematic analysis for qualitative data. Quantitative data analysis focused on estimating associations between preparedness levels and participants’ characteristics and perceptions. The results indicated low levels of preparedness—only 13.5% of participants reported having prepared a full emergency kit with supplies. Family members played a key role in almost every dimension related to emergency preparedness; alongside certain authorities perceived by the participants as responsible for initiating the preparedness process. Additional issues that emerged were related to information and communication and to the logistics of medication handling and special nutrition. The findings suggest that it is vital to adopt a proactive approach to the problem of preparedness in this population. This conclusion should be of value to health and social care practitioners in the community as well as to family members and caregivers. Practical and simple recommendations for enhancing preparedness based on these findings are provided. Viewing preparedness as a process that is the joint responsibility of the individual, the family, caregivers, and community health and social welfare services could contribute to maintaining continuity of care among vulnerable populations and mitigate adverse health outcomes in future events.
Webpage: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/hsc.12911
Bibliographic details:
Gesser-Edelsburg, A., Cohen, R., & Diamant, A. (n.d.). Experts’ Views on the Gaps in Public Health Emergency Preparedness in Israel: A Qualitative Case Study. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 1-8. doi:10.1017/dmp.2019.115
Abstract:
Background: Despite the significant improvement in all components of preparedness in the past decade, there are still gaps between the guidelines and the reality on the ground. The purpose of this study is to explore how Israeli public health and emergency medicine experts perceive the demands for health organization emergency preparedness and the actual practice.
Methods: Qualitative phenomenological research. We interviewed 22 Israeli public health and emergency medicine experts face-to-face and conducted a content analysis.
Results: The findings revealed barriers in the following areas: preparation and readiness of hospitals, preparedness and readiness in the community, connection between the community and the hospital, inter-agency coordination and interface, interdisciplinary integration, preparedness resources, postcrisis evaluation, assimilating smart technologies, information accessibility, and communication.
Conclusions: To reduce the gap between theory and practice, retrospective research and evaluation must be included to learn in depth what strategies and resources should be used during a health crisis. Likewise, profiles should be constructed and the community should be segmented in order to design resilience programs and accommodate information to subpopulations.
Bibliographic details:
Felsenstein D., Vernick M. and Israeli Y. (2018). Household Insurance Expenditure as an Indicator of Urban Resilience. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 31, 102- 111.
Abstract:
Demand for household insurance is intuitively perceived as contributing to household and community resilience. However the causality in this relationship is not clear. This paper examines household insurance expenditure and the generation of urban resilience as jointly determined. Potential endogeneity is purged by estimating this relationship as a system and using an instrumental variable approach. Empirical analysis based on aggregated Israeli household expenditure data is used. Results show that instrumenting makes a difference, that a distinction needs to be drawn between personal resilience and environmental resilience and that insurance coverage has an independent effect on resilience different to that of classic social (personal) and economic (property and placebased) characteristics. The policy context of the findings are discussed.
Bibliographic details:
Shlomo Mizrahi, Eran Vigoda-Gadot & Nissim Cohen (2019): Drivers of trust in emergency organizations networks: the role of readiness, threat perceptions and participation in decision making, Public Management Review, DOI: 10.1080/14719037.2019.1674367
Abstract:
This paper explores the factors that influence public trust in public organizations responsible for providing services before, during and after emergencies. We develop a research framework and test it using a survey distributed among a representative sample of the Israeli population. The analysis develops the concept of an emergency network and explains its advantages as a mechanism for coordinating emergency services. It shows that trust in emergency organizations is related to trust in the public sector in general, the perceived level of readiness of emergency organizations and the degree to which people fear that an emergency situation will occur.
Bibliographic details:
Oddsdóttir, F., Lucas, B., & Combaz, É. (2013). Measuring disaster resilience. UK: GSDRC University of Birmingham
Abstract:
Several agencies have developed guidance for measuring disaster resilience. One of the mostcomprehensive and widely-cited frameworks isTwigg’s (2009) ‘characteristics of resilience’ framework.Based on five dimensions of resilience identified in the Hyogo Framework for Action (governance, riskassessment, knowledge and education, risk management and vulnerability reduction, disasterpreparedness and response), it provides an extensive inventory of 28 components and 167 characteristicsor indicators.
DFID’s Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment Framework and Oxfam GB’s Multidimensional Approach for Measuring Resilience are two other frameworks with detailed recommendations for indicators. On the other hand, many agencies do not recommend standard sets of indicators, but instead emphasise the need to develop locally-relevant indicators through participatory methods involving local communities. These agencies provide strategies and tools for developing context-specific indicators and approaches to measuring resilience. There is a tension between the need for indicators to be both comparable and tailored to particular social groups and contexts (Castleden et al. 2011, 375; Turnbull et al. 2013, 40; Twigg 2009). Moreover, Levine et al. (2012) warn that quantification can de-contextualise resilience, particularly where it fails to account for factors operating at multiple levels (household, national, international).The following report presents summaries of seven frameworks with different approaches to measuring resilience which were identified in the course of preparing the GSDRC topic guide on Disaster Resilience which is to be published in early 2014.
Bibliographic details:
Eshel, Y., Kimhi, S., & Marciano, H. (2019). Proximal and distal determinants of community resilience under threats of terror. Journal of community psychology.
Abstract:
Community resilience (CR) is a positive trajectory of adaptation of a commune after a disturbance, stress, or adversity. Previous studies have successfully predicted CR in times of stress by distal factors, such as demographic characteristics of the community members and by their psychological attributes. We submit that since all these variables are distal predictors, which are not directly related to the actual stressful condition, CR would be predicted more readily by proximal factors, which portray people’s responses to the investigated adversity (i.e., trust in the community emergency team). A sample of 1,515 adults, living in terror‐stricken border communities in northern Israel has been examined. Their perceived CR has been predicted concurrently by distal and by proximal factors. Results have supported the research hypotheses, indicating the importance of proximal variables in determining and promoting CR.
Bibliographic details:
Roth, F., & Prior, T. (2019). Volunteerism in Disaster Management: Opportunities, Challenges and Instruments for Improvement. ETH Zurich.
Abstract:
Collaborations of civic society and public administration play a key role for successful emergency and disaster management. However, factors including new technologies, large-scale disaster events, and a differently engaged population are combining to bring new, spontaneous or emergent forms of volunteerism to official disaster management activities. This report addresses the challenges and opportunities of integrating such volunteers in disaster management and civil protection. Further, it details 1) the relationships between state crisis management and the social environment in which these relationships take place; and 2) the instruments available to support volunteerism in the context of disaster management and civil protection.