Experiencing trauma during or before pregnancy: qualitative secondary analysis after two natural disasters (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Severson ◽  
Joanne K. Olson ◽  
Ashley Hyde ◽  
Suzette Bremault-Phillips ◽  
Jude Spiers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Maternal Health ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Expressive Writing ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Traumatic Experiences ◽  
Thematic Content Analysis ◽  
Fort Mcmurray ◽  
Qualitative Secondary Analysis

BACKGROUND Despite the existing knowledge about stress, trauma and pregnancy and maternal stress during natural disasters which could be linked to adverse birth and child health outcomes, little is known about what types of trauma pregnant or preconception women experience during natural disasters. In May 2016, the worst natural disaster in modern Canadian history required the evacuation of nearly 90,000 residents of the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo (FMWB) area of northern Alberta. Among the thousands of evacuees were an estimated 1850 women who were pregnant or soon to conceive. In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas and Louisiana, with 30,000 people forced to flee their homes due to the intense flooding. An estimated 40,000 pregnant women were living in Houston at the time of the flooding. OBJECTIVE To explore immediate and past traumatic experiences of pregnant or preconception women who experienced one of two natural disasters (a wildfire and a hurricane) as captured in their expressive writing. Research questions were: (1) What trauma did pregnant or preconception women experience during the fire and the hurricane? (2) What past traumatic experiences, apart from the disasters, did the women discuss in their expressive writing? METHODS A qualitative secondary analysis of expressive writing using thematic content analysis was conducted on the expressive writing of 50 pregnant or preconception women who experienced the 2016 Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo Wildfire (n=25) and the 2017 Houston Hurricane Harvey (n=25) Narrative data in the form of expressive writing entries from participants of two primary studies were thematically analyzed. One of the expressive writing questions was used in this analysis: “What is the most traumatic, upsetting experience of your entire life, especially that you have never discussed in great detail with others?” NVivo 12 supported thematic content analysis. RESULTS For some women, the natural disaster elicited immense fear and anxiety that surpassed past traumatic life events. Others, however, disclosed significant past traumas that continue to impact them, including betrayal by a loved one, abuse, maternal health complications, and illness. CONCLUSIONS We recommend a strengths-based and trauma-informed care approach in both maternal health and post-disaster relief care.

scholarly journals The Fort McMurray Mommy Baby Study: A Protocol to Reduce Maternal Stress Due to the 2016 Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo, Alberta, Canada Wildfire

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Hyde ◽  
Barbara S. E. Verstraeten ◽  
Joanne K. Olson ◽  
Suzanne King ◽  
Suzette Brémault-Phillips ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Expressive Writing ◽  
Maternal Stress ◽  
Maternal Mental Health ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Prenatal Maternal Stress ◽  
Fort Mcmurray

Introduction: Data show that maternal stress triggered by exposure to a natural disaster before, during or just after pregnancy is associated with adverse pregnancy and newborn outcomes. In this paper, the first aim is to describe our efforts to test a simple, low-cost intervention to large numbers of women following a major natural disaster. The second aim is to outline the challenges faced and lessons learned during the execution of this natural disaster study.Methods: The setting was the May 2016 Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo wildfire in northern Alberta, Canada. Women who were pregnant or preconception at the time of the disaster were invited to participate via social media. This prospective cohort study included a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of an expressive writing intervention on the levels of prenatal maternal stress and maternal, birth, and early childhood outcomes. At recruitment and at multiple timepoints postpartum, a battery of questionnaires was administered to evaluate objective and subjective stress exposure to the fire as well as maternal mental health, resilience and its contributing factors as well as infant developmental milestones. Qualitative content analysis of the expressive writing was conducted.Discussion: There is an increasing need to develop effective, wide-spread, rapid, and low-cost interventions to reduce prenatal maternal stress, increase resilience, and improve pregnancy outcomes following a natural disaster. Though analysis of data is ongoing, we highlight the strengths of this study which include strong community participation, rapid recruitment of eligible participants, low-cost intervention and data acquisition, and successful testing of the intervention. We acknowledge the challenges we encountered including the high rate of participant disqualifications or losses due to incomplete collection of online data; evacuation, dispersal, and inconsistent return to homes; and the high levels of stress accumulated post-disaster which led to inability to complete the study. Despite potential challenges, there remains a need for such research amid natural disasters.

When Mother Earth Rises Up

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Sacchi ◽  
Paolo Riva ◽  
Marco Brambilla
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Disaster Victims ◽  
Willingness To Help ◽  
Mother Earth

Anthropomorphization is the tendency to ascribe humanlike features and mental states, such as free will and consciousness, to nonhuman beings or inanimate agents. Two studies investigated the consequences of the anthropomorphization of nature on people’s willingness to help victims of natural disasters. Study 1 (N = 96) showed that the humanization of nature correlated negatively with willingness to help natural disaster victims. Study 2 (N = 52) tested for causality, showing that the anthropomorphization of nature reduced participants’ intentions to help the victims. Overall, our findings suggest that humanizing nature undermines the tendency to support victims of natural disasters.

Law on Natural Disasters

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ki-Gab Park
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
International Community ◽  
The State ◽  
Efficient Tool ◽  
International Solidarity ◽  
Cooperation Mechanism ◽  
Prior Consent ◽  
Humanitarian Crises

The chapter argues that natural disasters are common concerns in the international community. At the same time, the current international cooperation mechanism, based on the principle of equal sovereignty, require prior consent by the state affected by a natural disaster. Unfortunately, this is not always an efficient tool for the protection of victims. The globalization of problems and the proliferation of humanitarian crises make the veritable solidarity of the international community increasingly necessary, and therefore another high value, namely international solidarity or community obligations, should create direct and immediate obligations for all members of the international community. The main object of this chapter is to discuss the future-oriented direction of the law on natural disasters. This means, first, to ascertain the lex lata, especially customary rules. The chapter further offers some suggestions on possible ways for the international community to provide more effective relief for victims of natural disasters.

scholarly journals Do Long-Term Natural Disasters Influence Social Trust? Empirical Evidence from China

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7280
Author(s):  
Yao Li ◽  
Haoyang Li ◽  
Jianqing Ruan
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Flood Frequency ◽  
Psychological Characteristics ◽  
The North ◽  
The Impact

The natural environment is one of the most critical factors that profoundly influences human races. Natural disasters may have enormous effects on individual psychological characteristics. Using China’s long-term historical natural disaster dataset from 1470 to 2000 and data from a household survey in 2012, we explore whether long-term natural disasters affect social trust. We find that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between long-term natural disaster frequency and social trust. We further examine the impact of long-term natural disaster frequency on social trust in specific groups of people. Social trust in neighbors and doctors is stronger where long-term natural disasters are more frequent. Our results are robust after we considering the geographical difference. The effect of long-term natural disasters remains positively significant after we divide the samples based on geographical location. Interestingly, the impact of long-term flood frequency is only significant in the South and the impact of long-term drought frequency is only significant in the North.

scholarly journals Pandemic and Social Work: Exploring Finnish Social Workers’ Experiences through a SWOT Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Harrikari ◽  
Marjo Romakkaniemi ◽  
Laura Tiitinen ◽  
Sanna Ovaskainen
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Swot Analysis ◽  
Adaptive Governance ◽  
Thematic Content Analysis ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
Welfare Institutions ◽  
New Type

Abstract This article addresses the experiences of Finnish frontline social workers during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020. Two questions are addressed. First, ‘what types of challenges social work professionals faced’ in their everyday, ‘glocal’ pandemic setting and, second, what types of solutions they developed to meet these challenges. The data consist of 33 personal diaries that social work professionals created from mid-March to the end of May 2020. The diaries are analysed by a thematic content analysis and placed within the framework of a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis. The results suggest that the pandemic challenged social work at all levels, from face-to-face interactions to its global relations. The pandemic revealed not only the number of existing problems of social work, but also created new types of challenges. It demanded ultimate resilience from social workers and a new type of adaptive governance from social welfare institutions.

scholarly journals Building Sustainable Rural Age-Friendly Communities: Grassroots Perspectives

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 698-698
Author(s):  
Patricia Oh
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Local Knowledge ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Effect Change ◽  
Thematic Content Analysis ◽  
Thematic Content ◽  
Technical Advice ◽  
Rural Work

Abstract Joining the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities does not make a community age-friendly; the age-friendly team must cultivate community engagement, develop collaborations with diverse stakeholders, mobilize resources, and document achievements. Little research describes the tools age-friendly rural communities use to effect change and develop sustainability. Thematic content analysis of 67 interviews conducted between December 09, 2018 and January 24, 2020 with age-friendly leaders in rural Maine communities suggested that peer-to-peer networking, privileging local knowledge, engaging local and regional partners, technical advice from a trusted source, and fun were among the tools used to move age-friendly rural work forward.

Segmentation of physician-assisted suicide as a niche tourism market: An Initial Exploration

2021 ◽  
pp. 109634802110116
Author(s):  
Jun Wen ◽  
Edmund Goh ◽  
Chung-En Yu
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Target Groups ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Thematic Content Analysis ◽  
Specific Target ◽  
Initial Exploration

Suicide travel, in which potential suicide candidates visit certain destinations to perform physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is an emerging topic in tourism. Despite noted discrepancies between suicide travel and traditional definitions of tourism, PAS practices in tourism have gained the attention of scholars and practitioners. This type of travel is inherently complex, and its segmentation remains ambiguous. This study examines a sample of PAS-related videos and viewer comments to identify relevant travel segments. Based on two rounds of thematic content analysis, the resultant segmentation offers a preliminary perspective on this emerging market. Theoretically, this study is among the first to provide a comprehensive overview of the roles of PAS practices in tourism in terms of specific target groups. Practically, the findings offer novel insight for industry practitioners and policy makers.

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