This study documents the vicarious psychological impact of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti on Haitians living in the United States. The role of coping resources-family, religious, and community support-was explored. The results highlight the importance of family and community as coping strategies to manage such trauma.Keywords: vicarious trauma, natural disaster, coping Este estudio documenta el impacto psicológico vicario que tuvo el terremoto de 2010 en Haití sobre los residentes haitianos que viven en Estados Unidos. Se explora el papel de los recursos de afrontamiento-apoyo familiar, religioso y comunitario. Lo resultados destacan la importancia de la familia y la comunidad como estrategias de afrontamiento para superar un trauma de esas características.Palabras Clave: trauma vicario, desastre natural, afrontamiento R esearch has shown that natural disasters have an impact on survivors (Benight et al., 1999) as well as those outside of the disaster zone (Shalev, Tuval-Mashiach, & Hadar, 2004). Although less is known regarding those who are not directly affected, the limited research indicates that individuals outside the disaster zone may experience trauma symptoms similar to those reported by individuals who experienced the traumatic event (Everly, Boyle, & Lating, 1999), which may be defined as vicarious trauma (VT). Our article highlights (a) the VT symptoms resulting from one such natural disaster, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and (b) the coping strategies used to manage such trauma by Haitians/Haitian Americans.
Since the devastating earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, all eyes have been on Haiti. In particular, with the influx of foreign psychological and psychosocial efforts, the country's mental health infrastructure has been under scrutiny. In the context of a strong familial, community, and religious social fabric, the field of formal mental health services, including counseling, is not as strongly developed as in the United States, or other Westernized countries. In the wake of the earthquake, however, service providers in Haiti within the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and social work are moving toward increased organization and structural cohesiveness. This report provides an overview of historical foundations, current context, and future implications surrounding the state of counseling in Haiti.
This paper describes issues that need to be addressed to reform the U.S. healthcare delivery system, the solutions to some of these issues that are part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (as amended), and the implications for African Americans of some of the recently enacted reforms. These reforms take the first steps toward eliminating the insurance coverage gap that keeps many from receiving needed care. The necessary and simultaneous emphasis on cost containment of this legislation, however, may limit access to health care for African Americans.Keywords Healthcare reform . Healthcare of African Americans . Racial and ethnic health disparities . African Americans and Medicaid . African Americans and MedicareAlthough a global leader in medical advances, the U.S. healthcare system has numerous inefficiencies and market imperfections. For example, the system places inadequate emphasis on prevention and rewards the use of medical inputs (such as procedures), rather than the generation of medical outputs (or health outcomes). Information asymmetries abound between patients and providers, as do high administrative costs, in part due to the multiple payers (individuals, insurance companies, governments) for services received within the healthcare system. In addition, adverse selection in the insurance market makes it difficult for healthy individuals to purchase insurance priced at actuarially reasonable rates. These and other characteristics have contributed to rising costs within the system, inadequate access to insurance coverage (and to needed care) among individuals and families,
This paper provides a historical background and review of the literature on intergroup dialogues, with a focus on community-engaged dialogues. The authors illustrate the format, purpose, and community factors involved in the Day of Dialogue (DOD), an intergroup community dialogue series. An expansion of Zúñiga and Nagda’s (2001) stages of intergroup dialogue is used to critically examine dialogue issues and provide a structure for culturally appropriate, community-engaged implementation. Lessons learned from three years of DOD implementation are provided, including the following themes: Balancing process and content, maintaining flexibility, defining roles, identifying biases, identifying/engaging key players, allowing voices to be heard, mindfulness toward environment/structure, and promoting movement towards action. Concrete suggestions to guide future practice around creating effective, culturally appropriate, and community-engaged dialogues, as well as effectively empowering communities and fostering social change, will be discussed.
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