Module-3

National Disaster Management Training Module

Psychosocial Preparedness

March 2023

Jointly Developed by

National Disaster Management Authority National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences
(NDMA) (NIMHANS)
National Disaster Management Training
Module-3

Psychosocial Preparedness

Authors
Dr. K. Sekar
Dr. Jayakumar C
Dr. Patrick Jude

NDMA, New Delhi

NIMHANS, Bengaluru
 National Disaster Management Training Module-3
Psychosocial Preparedness

Supported by
National Disaster Management Authority,
Government of India,
NDMA Bhawan,
A-1, Safdarjung Enclave,
New Delhi – 110029.

Published by
NIMHANS, Bengaluru
NDMA, New Delhi.

Layout & Printed by::

Futura Digital Colour Press
# 4/4, 3rd Main, Tata Silk Farm
Near Yediyur Lake
Bengaluru - 560 082, INDIA.
E-mail: futuradigital1@[Link]

Edition First, March 2023

Copyright @ NIMHANS, NDMA

When citing this manual, the following citation should be used:

National Disaster Management Training Module-3, Psychosocial Preparedness.

2023 © National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and National Institute of

Mental Health and Neuro Sciences All rights reserved. No part of this work may be
reproduced in any form, by mimeograph or any other means, without permission in writing
from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences and the National Disaster
Management Authority.

[Link]
[Link]

II
 CONTENT

Chapter Title Page No

Section1- Psychosocial Preparedness

1 Preparedness in disasters 1-5

2 Psychosocial Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability (PS-HRV) Analysis 6 - 10

3 Resource mapping 11 - 13

4 Psychosocial competency 14 - 19

5 Psychosocial skill demonstration (PSSD) 20 - 23

6 Cultural sensitivity in disasters 24 - 28

7 Disaster risk communication (DRC) 29 - 31

8 Preparedness for vulnerable groups 32 - 37

9 Caregivers and preparedness 38 - 40

10 Community resilience building 41 - 44

Section 2- Implementation of Psychosocial Support and Preparedness

1 Multisectoral collaboration in disasters 46 - 48

2 Ethics in disaster management 49 - 51

3 Documentation in emergencies 52 - 55

4 Developing action plan 56 - 58

Facilitator’s guide 63 - 77

Workbook 80 - 106

References 107

III
 FOREWORD

Irrespective of the type of disaster, be it natural or human-made a crisis event often

affects the entire community and call for emergency situation. When a disaster takes
place, it invariably yields significant biopsychosocial consequences on the affected
community. Such consequences could even last for a long period of time having deep
impact on physical, psychological and social lives of the affected community.
Therefore, being prepared to any such alarming crisis event plays a significant role in
curbing the long-lasting impact well in advance.

Better psychosocial preparedness during a disaster leads to more efficient resource

allocation, rebuilding of physical structures, strengthening the individual’s coping
abilities, adaptation and resilience. Hence, there is a need to develop a culture
appropriate module on psychosocial preparedness for disaster in India with special
focus on vulnerable groups.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), New Delhi in collaboration with

National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru
taken the initiative to develop psychosocial preparedness module through a large
research project titled ‘The preparation of psychosocial care, preparedness modules
and IEC materials’.

This module aims to provide hands-on training for the stakeholders in capacitating
individuals, families and communities on psychosocial competencies that help in
minimizing the impact of psychosocial issues that arise with the disaster, build better
coping abilities, better psychosocial response and adaptation

IV
 PREFACE

Disaster is a crisis which occurs over a short or long period of time, causing damages to the
environment, people and communities. Prolonged emotional distress can be experienced by
people who have lived through disasters. In order to help them cope and enable their physical
and emotional competencies, preparedness is crucial. Preparedness enables people and groups
to predict, respond, and recover from the effects of an impending disasters by enhancing their
physical and emotional competencies. These are measures intended to plan and facilitate prompt
and efficient rescue, relief, and rehabilitation efforts following disasters. Communities that are
vulnerable to disasters need to be made aware of potential psychological risks, actual dangers,
and psychosocial vulnerabilities. Understanding the psychological dangers, risks, and
vulnerabilities that exist in the society requires community participation. These methods
support effective community disaster management by assisting in the identification of felt needs
and concerns around disaster threats, risks, and vulnerabilities.

Individuals, families, and communities can be empowered by improving their psychosocial

competency, which in turn enables quick and sensible responses to crises. It has been
acknowledged among the professionals, stakeholders and community that psychosocial care in
disaster management is an important and inevitable intervention for normalising the
community. Psychosocial care, along with preparedness could complete the disaster
intervention cycle. It has been noted that majority of the psychosocial intervention starts with
relief and stops with rehabilitation phase excluding the major component of coping and
resilience which often remains untouched, resulting in incompleteness and reduce effectiveness
of intervention.

Many of the post disaster or pre-disaster support frameworks, speak about structural, ecological
and environmental aspects of the individual and community. They notably leave out the
emotional component of community preparedness. NIMHANS identified this gap and initiated
a novel program of integrating psychosocial care into preparedness and risk reduction for
strengthening coping and resilience of the community. This was also acknowledged by the
WHO Mental Health division as a first of its kind in the area of disaster management.

The manual takes into account hazard and different types of vulnerability affecting individuals
associated with disasters. Assessment tools along with approaches to psychosocial preparedness
are elucidated for easier use of the reader. Case studies, flowcharts, and research models are used
to explain the same. The ethical principles to be followed, along with the challenges in working
with vulnerable groups have also been described. I extend my heart felt congratulations and
wishes to the team for having developed this module.

Dr. Pratima Murthy

Director,
NIMHANS,
Bengaluru.
V
 AUTHORS NOTE

Globally there is a paradigm shift in disaster management plan from the relief centric approach
to emphasis on preparedness. It requires a sequential planning and continuous resource
evaluation to design the strategic preparedness program. India is prone to different types of
disaster because of the geo-climatic condition and social structure. Therefore, introducing a pan-
disaster psychosocial preparedness program which can be adopted across the states irrespective
of the type and nature of disaster is the need of the hour.

This module on ‘Psychosocial Preparedness’ developed with the support of National Disaster
Management Authority (NDMA), New, Delhi aims to provide a pan-disaster psychosocial
preparedness activities that can be implemented through the targeted stakeholders. This is the
3rd module developed as a part of larger project titled ‘Development of Psychosocial Care and
Preparedness Module and IEC Materials’.

This module is given in three parts. Part-1 is the information module. This part is divided into 2
sections. Section-1 has 10 chapters on ‘Psychosocial Preparedness’ activities. Section-2 is on
the ‘Implementation of PSS and Preparedness’ activities, which is been elaborated in 4 chapters.
Facilitator’s guide is given in part-2. Altogether it has got 21 hours programme plan (section-1:
15 hours; section-2: 6 hours), developed in line with information module. Part-3 has got a
workbook having exercises that can be practices by the readers/participants. Culture appropriate
illustrations have been given in the information module. Participatory methodology has been
adopted for the training module (facilitators guide). An activity is given for each session which
can be used both in the online and/or offline platforms. Participants with under-graduation/post-
graduation degrees may be considered eligible for the training program, who could be the
psychosocial caregivers especially in the implementation of disaster preparedness activities.

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to National Disaster Management Authority
(NDMA), New Delhi for the funding support, methodical inputs and periodical review meetings
in developing this module. We sincerely thank Shri Sanjeeva Kumar, IAS, Former Member
Secretary, Shri Kamal Kishore, Member Secretary, Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) PVSM,
UYSM, AVSM,SM,VSM & BAR, Shri Rajendra Singh, PTM, TM, Former Director General,
Indian Coast Guard, Shri Krishna S. Vatsa, Member, Shri Alok, IAS, Additional Secretary,
Ravinesh Kumar, former financial advisor, Col Kirti Pratap Singh Joint Secretary (Mitigation),
Ms. Sreyasi Choudry, Shri Harsh Gupta, IAS Former Joint Advisor, Mitigation, Shri Biswarup
Das, Joint Advisor (Mitigation) and Ms. Maithreyee Mukherjee, Senior Consultant,
Psychosocial Care and Social Vulnerability Reduction for their constant support.

We are thankful to the Director, National Institute of Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS),
Bengaluru Dr. Pratima Murthy and Former Directors Dr G Gururaj and Dr B N Gangadhar for
their constant guidance and administrative support. We would also like to extend heartful thanks
to Dr. Vivek Bengal, Prof. and Head, Department of Psychosocial Support in Disaster
Management (DPSSDM) for his continuous support and guidance. Special thanks to Dr. D.
Dinakaran, Assistant Professor, DPSSDM for his valuable inputs in shaping this manual.

The insightful discussions from the consultation meeting with different stakeholders, SDMA,
DDMA, NGO and experts greatly helped in planning the content of this module. We thank each
and every member from SDMAs, DDMAs, first responders, and volunteers who took part in the
consultation meeting.

VI
Mr. Rins Thomas has done a meticulous job on simplifying the language for the better
comprehension of the target population. Mr Govindaraju has contributed in developing the
artwork. We thank them both for their time and effort.

We would like to acknowledge all the direct and indirect support received from all the team
members of DPSSDM, NIMHANS, Bengaluru. We thank Ms Christella Sowmya for
representing different illustration in this module. We would like to appreciate the support
rendered by Dr. Balashanthi Nikketha, Dr. Rajamanikandan Savarimalai, Dr. Lithin Zakharias,
Mr. Allen Daniel Christopher, Ms. Sandhya P D, Ms. Jane Maria, Mr. Kannan. M, Mr. Sathish
and Ms. Sharmila.

VII
 LIST OF TABLES

Table No Title Page No

Section1- Psychosocial Preparedness

2.1 Types of Psychosocial vulnerability with examples 7

7.1 Disaster Risk Communication Framework 29

Vulnerable groups, nature of vulnerabilities and activities
8.1 34
that foster disaster preparedness

9.1 Enriching the efficiency of caregivers 39

10.1 Psychosocial Resiliency Timeline 44

Section 2- Implementation of Psychosocial Support and Preparedness

1.1 Different stakeholders and their roles 46

VIII
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No Title Page No

Section1- Psychosocial Preparedness

1.1 Preparedness Cycle 1

2.1 Progression of psychosocial vulnerability 6

2.2 Key areas of psychosocial vulnerability with assessment 8

2.3 Progression of psychosocial vulnerability 8

2.4 HRV analysis 9

3.1 Steps in Resource Mapping 11

4.1 Skills required to enhance psychosocial competency 14

7.1 Types of Disaster Information 30

7.2 Mediums for DRC 30

8.1 Steps in accelerating preparedness among vulnerable groups 33

10.1 Factors favouring psychosocial resilience 44

IX
 Section - 1

PSYCHOSOCIAL PREPAREDNESS
CHAPTER 1 PREPAREDNESS IN DISASTERS

Preparedness is a collective effort by the different stakeholders to enable individuals

and groups to anticipate, respond and recover from the impact of forthcoming disaster
by building their physical and psychosocial competencies. These are actions designed
to organise and enable timely and effective rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts
post-disasters.

Preparedness cycle

Plan: Planning is a continuous and sequential process. Planning has to focus on the
preparedness activities that need to be done, who are the target population, how and
when it can be done. Principles of disaster preparedness planning include;

Figure 1.1: Preparedness cycle

Evaluate
and Plan
improve

Preparedness
Cycle
Exercise Organise

Train
Adapted from FEMA., 2010
l Sharing of information on meetings.
l Conducting disaster drills, simulations and rehearsals.
l Developing techniques for conducting training and assessments .
l Creating mutual aid agreements.
l Sharing of education to community in the planning process.
l Positioning and preserving appropriate resources.
l Forming connections with formal and informal groups.
l Disseminating information on upcoming dangers and hazards.
l Forming structural and organisational disaster plans and reconnecting with
public emergency plans.

Organise: Grouping of resources, technology, people and skills that are essential to
execute the plan.

1
Train: Building capacity of individuals, families and communities on preparedness.

INDIVIDUAL LEVEL PREPAREDNESS FAMILY LEVEL PREPAREDNESS

l Being informed about the possible l Identifying physical vulnerabilities at
hazards, risks and vulnerabilities. home and correcting them.
l Enhancing social support. l Informing family on disaster
l Having adequate knowledge on escape. preparedness.
routes and early precautionary measures. l Ensuring participation in mock drills and
l Maintaining an emergency kit. other community activities.
l Having the habit of saving (food, money l Developing an emergency family
and other essentials). evacuation plan.
l Maintaining emergency resource l Understanding the needs of vulnerable
directory. groups in the family.
l Enrolling in insurance schemes. l Make plans for livestock or pet
l Safeguarding important documents. management.
l Understanding personal and community l Maintaining an emergency essentials kit
capabilities and vulnerabilities. for family.
l Being trained on first aid. l Orienting family on response plans and
responsible usage of resources.

COMMUNITY LEVEL PREPAREDNESS GOVERNMENT LEVEL PREPAREDNESS

l Formulating a community preparedness l Installing mechanisms to dispense early
plan. warning systems.
l Identifying evacuation routes and safer l Devising plans and programmes aiming
settlement places. at disaster preparedness.
l Participating in field exercises, l Establishing monitoring and evaluation
systems to oversee and refine
psychosocial and routine mock drills.
preparedness plans.
l Understanding the hazards, risks and l Investing on capacity building of the
vulnerabilities in the community. community on disaster preparedness.
l Identifying community resources and l Identifying stakeholders and fostering
plan resource management. communication and coordination among
l Instilling community we feeling and them.
oneness. l Enabling livelihood preservation and
l Congregating as a community to discuss enhancement programmes.
about the community needs and concerns l Responding promptly to the needs and
and devising systems to deal with them. concerns of the community.

Exercise: This focuses on testing of plans, protocols and capacities, and identifying
strengths, weakness, threats and opportunities. This should aim at the existing
institutional structures, policies and schemes related to preparedness, resources
available, preparedness measures on board, capacity of the community on disaster
management or disaster risk reduction, involvement of the stakeholders and
intersectoral collaboration.

2
 MAKING A PREPAREDNESS PLAN
Prepare a telephone tree: The tree must contain contact details of disaster response teams,
first responders, mental health professionals, administrators, volunteers and other
stakeholders.

Identification of supplies, services and experts: Resources available in the community,

available manpower, systems and costs involved. Community's utilization of resources and
steps taken to preserve and enhance resources.

Purchase and distribute in-house supplies: Supplies needed for effective response and
plans for distribution and maintenance of the same. Measures taken to purchase the resources,
stakeholders responsible for purchase, distribution and maintenance.

Preparedness Documentation: Disaster response plans, information on preparedness,

emergency services, emergency exit maps, ready reference guides, HRV analysis and
resources.

Write an elaborate disaster plan: Basics, examples, guidelines and constantly updating plan
based on the emerging needs. The plan must be clear, have adequate reliable information and
must be updated on time.

Capacity Building Programmes: Responsibility sharing, open meetings, usage of effective

communicative tools, training programmes on responding to disasters and preparedness.

Evaluate and improve: Revising the plans and protocols to fill in the identified
gaps and strengthening individual, family and community roles in timely
execution of preparedness plans. The evaluation should help in revisiting the
policies, laws, stakeholders responsible for preparedness activities in disasters
based on the identified hazards, risks and vulnerabilities. These help in effecting
workable hazard, risk and vulnerability mitigation plans. Understanding on
resources help in installation of resource management systems, improving early
warning signs, disaster communication mechanisms and need for capacity
building programmes

PSYCHOSOCIAL PREPAREDNESS IN DISASTERS

PERCEIVE PROACT
(Possible Hazards, (Implement plan with
Vulnerabilities and Risks) community participation)

PLAN
(Disaster risk reduction and
emergency response plans)

3
Psychosocial preparedness aims at capacitating individuals, families and
communities on psychosocial competencies that help in minimising the impact of
psychosocial issues that arise with the disaster, build better coping abilities, better
psychosocial response and adaptation. Psychosocial preparedness in disaster prone
communities can be nourished by ensuring the following:

l Understand their psychosocial issues, prevailing coping abilities and resources.

l Improving social support systems.
l Creating opportunities for disaster prone communities to enrich psychosocial
competencies.
l Instilling community spirit and oneness (understanding the cultural, linguistic
and other social differences, accepting one another despite differences and co-
existing).

Principles of psychosocial preparedness

l Collective response - refers to integrated multisectoral psychosocial

preparedness policy, plans and programmes. The response should be from nodal
as well as line departments, institutions, civil society organisations, volunteers
and the communities.

l Freedom of expression - each individual contributor have liberty and freedom

to stake/opinion in planning, designing and implementing psychosocial
preparedness.

l Non-discrimination - during the psychosocial preparedness phase, where all

the members of the community are respected and treated equally irrespective of
their age, gender, caste economic status, education, for an inclusive psychosocial
preparedness.

l Community participation - every psychosocial preparedness plan must

involve the participation of all it's constituent (individual family, community,
govt., non-govt., volunteers, organisation, association, groups, first responders,
professionals, spiritual organisations) members.

l Effective resource utilization - optimal use of (internal and external)

structural/human, utilising existing and creating new resources, capacity
building and training of various stakeholders needs to be balanced.

l Community determination - the impact and response of the community

towards psychosocial preparedness is determined by the inclusive participation
of community.

4
l Collaboration and coordination - effective psychosocial care preparedness
requires robust collaboration and coordination between various stakeholders
(individual family, community, govt., non-govt., volunteers, organisation,
association, groups, first responders, professionals, spiritual organisations).

l Community advocacy - sustained community advocacy on psychosocial care

preparedness including rights-based opinion, awareness campaigns, and
community outreach.

Remember
Psychosocial preparedness has five phases.
l

Psychosocial preparedness requires assessment, resource plan, feedback,

l

evaluation and policy implementation.

Capacity building programmes are essential for enabling psychosocial
l

preparedness in disaster prone communities.

5
 PSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARD, RISK AND
CHAPTER 2 VULNERABILITY (PS-HRV) ANALYSIS
Disaster prone communities need to be sensitised about the possible psychosocial
hazards, pre-existing risks and psychosocial vulnerabilities. Knowledge of
psychosocial hazards, risks and vulnerabilities nurture disaster preparedness and
psychosocial adaptation skills. Understanding the PS-HRV of communities enable
planning and implementation of appropriate psychosocial interventions to mitigate
hazards, eliminate risks and minimise psychosocial vulnerability. Community
participation is essential for understanding the psychosocial hazards, risks and
vulnerabilities existing in the community. Participatory Community Appraisal
techniques like transect walk, Venn diagram, mapping, interviewing, seasonal
calendar and problem census are effective information elicitation techniques. These
techniques help in identifying the felt needs and concerns related to disaster hazards,
risks and vulnerabilities and foster effective community disaster management.

Figure 2.1: Progression of psychosocial vulnerability

Underlying Dynamic Unsafe

Hazard
Causes Pressures Conditions

l Poverty. Lack of l Fragile physical l Trigger events.

l Limited access l Local environment. DISASTER l Earthquake.
to power & institutions. l Dangerous
l Education. locations. l Tsunami.
resources. l Training &
l Dangerous l High winds.
l Economic skills. Disaster =
Local buildings. Flooding.
disparities. l

investment. l Dangerous
Vulnerability + l

l Ideologies. l Local market. infrastructure. Hazard l Landslide.

l General l Press freedom. l Risk to l Drought.
preconditions. livelihood.
Macro forces l War/conflict.
l Social l Low income.
l Population. Technological
inequalities. l Urbanization. l Stigma & l

l Environmental discrimination. accident.

degradation.

Adapted from Blaikaie et al., 1994

Hazard
According to United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
(UNISDR) hazard can be a harmful phenomenon, human-made activity, situation or a
condition that can lead to loss of life, injury, damage to property and services,
livelihood loss, disturbance in social and economic elements and significant
destruction to environment/ecosystem. Natural hazards like floods, earthquakes,
tsunami, hailstorms, landslides, etc., arise out of environmental response and are
difficult to prevent and predict. Whereas, human-made hazards
(technological/sociological) are the result of human activity due to failure of
technology, structure, transport, nuclear accidents, riots, war and criminal acts.

6
Psychosocial vulnerability

Psychosocial vulnerability is a condition in which a person or a group of people due to

various factors are not in a position to anticipate, cope, resist and recover from the
impact of a natural or human-made hazard due to varied physical, social, economic
and environmental reasons. It is the degree to which an individual, community,
structure, provision or topographical area are likely to get exploited or disturbed by
the effect of particular event (hazard).

Table 2.1: Types of psychosocial vulnerability with examples

Types of vulnerability Examples

Physical vulnerability: Vulnerability Fire destroys homes made out of wood

created by physical structures (house but during earthquake, these homes
plans, materials used, lack of protocols, remain comparatively safer.
etc.).

Social vulnerability: Social markers During any disaster, all people in the
that make individuals vulnerable (age, community get affected but vulnerable
gender, caste, financial, education, health groups like older adult, children,
condition, etc.). pregnant women, etc., have larger impact
than other groups.

Economic vulnerability: Vulnerability

Densely populated or overcrowded
due to lack of financial resources (poor
places due to lack of economic stability.
job opportunities, poverty, etc.).

Environmental vulnerability: Vulnerable

conditions posed by the environment Damage to ecosystem affects the
(Deforestation, exploitation of natural equilibrium.
resources, lack of natural resources, etc.).

Psychosocial vulnerability assessment

Key areas to be explored as a part of psychosocial vulnerability assessment is depicted

in the figure 2.2.

7
 Fig 2.2: Key areas of psychosocial vulnerability with Assessment

Availability of
Multiple Experiencing Resources and Required
Cause Threats
Stressors recent hazard Capacities Interventions

The positive factors that minimise psychosocial vulnerability are called capacities.
Some examples for capacities are internal and external coping resources, trained
human resource, adequate awareness and preparedness measures, etc. The figure
below depicts the linear progression from vulnerability to disaster.

Figure 2.3: Progression of psychosocial vulnerability

Underlying Hazard
Poor preparedness and mitigation
Causes

Dynamic Poor capacity and skills Individual,

Process Community and Social Negligence

Unsafe
Conditions Pre-existing physical hazard

DISASTER

Disaster Risk

Along with understanding the hazards and psychosocial vulnerability, it is also vital to
be mindful of the psychosocial risks in the community. Disaster psychosocial risk is
the product of three important elements namely exposure to hazard, severity and
frequency of the hazard and psychosocial vulnerability. Risks can be the possible loss
of livelihood, injury (physical/mental) or devastation and impairment following a
disaster in a given time period.

8
 Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Analysis

Hazard Vulnerability
(Flood, (Physical,
Earthquake, Psychosocial
Riots, & Economic)
etc.) If one of the sides (hazard /
vulnerability / exposure) of the
RISK triangle increase, the amplitude of
risk increases and vice versa.

Exposure Risk = (Hazard*Vulnerability*Exposure)

(People, Building, Infrastructure, Livelihood) /Capacity

Figure 2.4: HRV analysis

Risk Assessment

Hazard Vulnerability Risk

Identification Assessment Management

Impact
Assessment

Phases of PS-HRV Analysis

1. Hazard identification: Historical account of disasters that has happened in the

locality and reviewing of the possible hazards that can occur in the future. Both the
expert team and the local community should join for this activity. The expert team
facilitates the activity using participatory appraisal methods and the local
community provides the required information.

2. Psychosocial risk assessment: The psychosocial risk assessment aims at

understanding the potential risks. For this, the larger community can be divided
into smaller groups of neighbourhoods. Then the probable occurrence of possible
hazard in the smaller neighbourhood is discussed through historical recounting
(remembering disasters in the past). During this process along with identification
of possible future hazards, the community should also look for the risks that would
increase the likelihood of hazard occurrence. Currently prevalent social evils like
inequality poverty, unemployment, marginalisation, stigma and discrimination
needs to identified and managed.

9
3. Psychosocial vulnerability assessment: This phase aims at the identification of
vulnerabilities for each hazard. The vulnerability can be based on person (age,
gender, population density, ethnicity and socioeconomic condition), place
(buildings, critical buildings, ecological spheres, historical, economic zones,
cultural and tourist sites), preparedness (capacity to respond, community
education, mitigation measures and warning systems) and period (time).
4. Impact assessment: Psychosocial impact assessment covers physical,
psychological, social and economic impact that can be triggered by a hazard.
5. Management of risk: The PS-HRV analysis helps in understanding the hazard,
risk and vulnerability and install systems, protocols and mechanisms aiming at
reducing disaster risk in the communities. PS-HRV analysis helps in codifying
communities as communities with low and high disaster impact as given below:
Low hazard * Low vulnerability = Low disaster impact
High Hazard * Low vulnerability = Low disaster impact
Low hazard* High vulnerability = High disaster impact
High hazard * High vulnerability = High disaster impact
A sample PS-HRV

PS-HRV Analysis provides crucial information on community's hazards, mitigation

and psychosocial preparedness practices with the involvement of community as first
responders in disaster management. It enhances community safety and prompt
response.

Remember
lHazard can be natural or human-made.
lPsychosocial vulnerabilities can be physical, social, economic, and
environmental.
lPsychosocial risk is a combination of hazard, exposure and psychosocial
vulnerability.

10
CHAPTER 3 RESOURCE MAPPING

Community Resource Mapping or asset mapping is a systematic process in which the

community members are involved in developing an inventory of the resources that are
available in the community. The goal is to identify resources and enhance skilful
utilisation of available resources during crisis and to look in to ways to strengthen or
add on community resources. Understanding the available resources and gathering
information on optimal utilization of community resources helps in prompt response
during emergencies. This would minimize vulnerability and maximise adaptation
during the different phases of the disaster management cycle.

We have a
community
resource centre
here…

Our school This spot can be

building can be used to create a
a place for warehouse for
temporary shelter material storage
during emergencies

Figure 3.1: Steps in Resource Mapping

Pre-mapping Mapping Action Post Action

11
Pre-mapping

l Formation of task force who would facilitate the resource mapping process.
l Identifying key stakeholders who have complete awareness about the resources
available in the community. Participants need to be from diverse socio-
demographics, e.g., gender, class, religion, age, ethnicity, etc.
l Building the agenda for the activity and setting the goals.
l Developing tools, checklists or discussion points for the activity.
l Prepare the community in advance by providing prior information about the
activity.

Mapping

1. Orientation about the activity: The community members are informed about
the significance, scope and relevance of resource mapping and how it would help
in minimising the severity of the impact and foster resilience among community
members.

2. Transect walk: The resource mapping team goes in person or help community
members recall from historical memory on the available community resources.

3. Picturing the resource: The community members are helped to draw a map of
the community using the available materials (chalk/limestone powder, different
colours, etc.) and asked to mark the resources available in the community using
symbols. Some examples of resources that can be mapped are: safer evacuation
sites, services available, organisations and local institutions available, programs
that are happening in the community, community gathering sites, health
facilities, support groups available, mental health support facilities, etc.

4. Discussion: How the resources can be utilised during emergencies i.e.,

optimising community's resource utilisation during emergencies. The discussion
should also focus on: identifying new resources, ensuring that the resources are
accessible to all community members, duplication of services, coordination and
collaboration among stakeholders.

5. Corrective Feedback: The facilitator provides insight on how the resources can
be used, enhancing faster recovery of resources, understanding gaps in
utilisation, steps to be taken to minimise gaps and efforts aiming at preserving
and enriching community resources and follow-up systems that have to be
installed for the community to monitor and enhance resource preservation,
utilisation and upgradation.

6. Designation: Designating responsible persons as community resource team for

following up the resolutions taken during the resource mapping activity.
12
7. Documentation: The process involved, stakeholders who participated, the
resource map that evolved and discussion that followed post mapping activity and
resolutions taken are documented in detail.

Action

l Arriving at a common agreement on the resolutions that were taken during the
mapping activity.
l Creating plans and strategies to reach the goals.
l Periodic follow-up on the resolutions taken.

Post action

l Critical evaluation of the activities carried out by the community resource

team.
l Revision of plans and continuation of resource preservation and enhancement.

Remember
l Resource mapping helps in canvasing the community resources and creating an
inventory of assets available in the community.
l It helps in ensuring optimal utilization of available resources during emergencies.
l It identifies gaps and creates mechanisms to rectify them.

13
CHAPTER 4 PSYCHOSOCIAL COMPETENCY

Stress in life is unavoidable and varies during every phase of life. Everyday living
imposes multiple stressors and disasters increase the magnitude of distress
experienced by individuals, families and communities. It is essential to capacitate
individuals, families and communities with psychosocial competencies that help
individuals to cope effectively with the daily stressors. Psychosocial competency
empowers individuals, families and communities and enable prompt and rational
reactions in response to disasters. The skills that disaster prone communities need to
develop during the life course to enhance the psychosocial competencies are
mentioned below:
Figure 4.1: Skills required to enhance psychosocial competency

Emotional Skills Self-awareness; Empathy; Adaptability; Coping; Resilience.

Cognitive Skills Problem solving; Decision making; Critical thinking; Creative thinking.

Social & Interpersonal Relationship Skills; Effective communication;

Civic Skills Cross cultural sensitivity; Social responsibility.

Leadership Skills Planning; Organising; Collaborating; Influencing; Conflict resolution.

Information Skills Information literacy; Media literacy; Information Communication literacy.

A. EMOTIONAL SKILLS
1. Self-awareness: Self-awareness refers to absolute awareness a person has about
oneself/others and why a person behaves in a certain way. It involves awareness
about one's strengths and limitations, coping strategies and internal resources.
a. “Flood takes place commonly during rainy season in my locality. So, during the
rainy season, I take my family to my sister's house. We stay there until the flood
situation gets better.” (32 years old male)
2. Empathy: Empathy is putting oneself into another person's position. When one
person understands another person's situation and tries to think from the other
person's perspective, it enriches understanding between the individuals. During
disaster when individuals understand persons, especially vulnerable and
marginalised groups, the relief centric activities can be promptly made available to
the needy.
a. “Me and my family need support. However, my neighbour has two children with
disability and she lost her husband in the landslide. They need more support.
Kindly help them”. (45 years old woman)
14
3. Adaptability: Adaptability is an individual's/family/community capacity to adjust
and adapt to the changes caused by an event. Disasters create physical and
psychosocial impact. Adaptation skills help the individual/family/community to
cope, respond better to the changes and move forward. Here the
individual/family/community foresees the event, understands the warning signs
and prepares adequately in advance. These adaptation skills fuel faster recovery.

a. “I know that COVID is going to continue for another six months or one year. I
cannot stop going out. I will follow all the necessary precautions and continue
going for work. If I stay at home, who will feed my family”. (39 years old male).

4. Coping: Coping with stress and coping with emotions are essential for every
individual / family / community. Disaster triggers a wide range of emotions that
might induce stress. Individuals / family / community have both adaptive
(receiving support, talking out, planning, accepting) and maladaptive coping
patterns (consuming alcohol, denial, being withdrawn). Maximizing the use of
adaptive patterns and minimising the use of maladaptive patterns would limit the
negative consequences of disaster.

a. “Whenever I feel stressed, I don't talk about my feelings to others. Talking to you
has helped me a lot. I am feeling much better”. (18 years old female).

5. Resilience: All the skills aim at building resilience among individuals / family /
community. Resilience is a skill that helps individuals resist to the loss incurred
subsequent to disaster, recover, and move forward.

a. “I lost my house but I know I can rebuild it”. (43 years old male).

[Link] SKILLS

1. Problem solving: Disaster situations impose lot of challenges to individuals /

family / community. Having skills to deal effectively with the challenges would
foster better adaptation. Individuals need to first understand the problem, break
complex problems into simpler units, brainstorm alternative solutions and execute
to deal with the problem/s.

a. “Every year our community gets affected by floods. Government comes and
provides relief when water overflows. Our community wanted to find some
solution to this recurring problem. We had consecutive discussions and decided
to build water banks and passages for water to go swiftly. Now the condition is
better”. (39 years old female).

15
2. Decision Making: During disasters, people need to make many decisions.
Effective decision-making skills help individuals/family/community to assess the
severity of the situation and respond better. Individuals need to brainstorm
decisions and assess the pros and cons of each decision. After analysing the actions
and consequences of each decision, the individual can select one.

a. “Whenever early warning signs regarding cyclone are announced, I decide not
to go for fishing. My home is near the shore. We also shift to safer zones created
by the Government”. (28 years old male).

3. Critical Thinking: Thinking critically enables better decision-making and

problem- solving abilities. Individuals/family/community need to think rationally,
understand the logical connections, analyse the implications and come to a
conclusive action.

a. “Being a farmer, we need to be dependent on mother nature. I decide what to do

based on the climate. Even if I do not have much yield or my crops dry off because
of extreme heat, I will think on what can be done to save the crop”. (52 years old
male).

4. Creative Thinking: Though critical thinking is vital, thinking out of the box is also
essential. Using resources differently or using available resources to solve existing
problems is vital to build resilient communities.

a. “We have water scarcity during drought seasons and we need to travel long
distances to fetch water. It would be heavy to carry the water pots on our heads.
One NGO helped us with these circular water carriers which we can roll on the
roads and reach our homes without much burden”. (32 years old female).
Decision making

Critical thinking

Problem solving

Creative thinking
16
C. SOCIAL & CIVIC SKILLS

1. Interpersonal relationship skills: People in general need support from one

another. Interpersonal relationship skills help in forming and maintaining
relationships and social connections. During emergencies, community need the
support of one another. These interpersonal skills help in identifying persons who
can be trusted, forming meaningful relationships and sustaining relationships that
would add support during difficult times.

a.“I maintain cordial relationship with my neighbours. Whenever I have any

trouble, they come for my assistance. When my neighbours undergo any
difficulty, I offer support”. (42 years old female).

2. Effective Communication: Communication is passing of information from a

sender to a receiver. During emergencies, providing meaningful communication is
crucial as a wrong communication can even result in casualty or major accident.
Enabling direct and open verbal/non-verbal communication would facilitate better
understanding among individuals and minimise chaos/commotion.

a.“Passing clear messages will minimise confusion. I generally tell clearly, what I
expect. It would help the other person to understand better”. (33 years old male).

3. Cross-cultural sensitivity: The Indian subcontinent has people from diverse

communities, class, creed, language and religion. It is essential to understand the
sentiments of persons from other cultures, respect them and tolerate. It will foster
unity and minimise culture specific tensions.

a.“When we lost our homes during the earthquake, we were allowed to stay in
temple halls, churches and mosques. We were from different religions. Based on
our religious customs, food was offered. They treated us with respect and regard.
We also share eatables and sweets during our festivals”. (63 years old female).

4. Social Responsibility: People need to be responsible. Government issues early

warning signs to ensure people safety. People need to adhere to the instructions.
During disasters, community members act as the first responders. Along with
securing their personal and familial needs, individuals should also work towards
attaining the collective needs of the community. It would help in restoring the
community.

a.“We gather as a community every three months, to discuss about the issues that
affect the community's well-being. We have set up systems to ensure the safety of
our people and property”. (52 years old male).

17
D. LEADERSHIP SKILLS

1. Planning: Proper planning is essential for prompt action. Adequate planning

results in accurate implementation. Every individual should possess adequate
planning skills. Certain disasters can be anticipated and certain occur without any
warning. Planning in advance helps in developing readiness to face disasters with
vigour. The plans need not be rigid but need to be flexible based on the
circumstances.
a. “Whenever there is an evacuation alarm, I keep ready with essential things to
carry and safeguard all important documents”. (27 years old female).
2. Organising: Individuals need to have a clear idea on what to do and how they are
going to do. Once they have clarity, it has to be communicated to others and
effective action need to be taken in alliance with others. Proper prioritisation is also
essential while implementing. Timely monitoring and evaluation of the work
initiated would help in tracking the progress.
a. “After the chemical poisoning, we gathered as a group and protested, till the
company was shifted from our community. During the protest, we also made sure
that the company follows the essential safety procedures”. (43 years old male).
3. Collaborating: A single individual cannot do all the work. It is essential to
coordinate, collaborate and cooperate. Tasks need to be assigned and delegated
based on individuals' or organisations' expertise, skills, resources and interests.
During disaster situations, multiple hands coming together is essential to restore the
lives of shattered hearts.
a. “I cannot do everything by myself. I sought the help of the community volunteers
in our village and we started preserving and expanding the mangrove”. (39
years old male).
4. Influencing: Positive change need to be replicated and sustained. Individuals need
to influence community members positively for community action, collaboration
and negotiation.
a. “I motivate people to group together and people listen to me”. (26 years old
female).
5. Resolving: In any group, conflicts arise and it is essential to resolve those conflicts
with adequate dialogues, open, direct and non-violent communication. A conflict
rich group will be a sick group in which collaboration and implementation would be
a difficult task. It is essential to understand reasons that cause conflict and resolve
them with appropriate strategies. Individuals should have conflict resolution skills
that would help them deal effectively when conflicts arise between groups or
individuals during disasters.
18
 a.“Our community was not coming together to discuss about disaster risk
reduction plans, I started bringing children together and through children, I was
able to reach the parents”. (39 years old male).

E. INFORMATION SKILLS
1. Information literacy: Authentic and adequate information on disaster risk
reduction strategies, coping skills, resources available, preparedness and
mitigation measures, response action in the wake of disaster enables risk reduction.
Individuals/family/community need to capacitate themselves with knowledge
related to what to do, whom to approach, what are the services available, what are
the early warning signs, cultural and natural cues in case of emergencies.
a. “The early warning signs are really helping us. We are cautioned and we know
what we are supposed to do and what we are not supposed to do”. (42 years old
female).
2. Media literacy: In today's era, the entire world has become a global village.
Information passes faster through media. Individuals/family/community need to
know how to access information through multiple media options available
(traditional and new age media).
a. “I feel that the social media is helping us in getting information from the
authorities. It is also helping us in gathering relief, seeking help and providing
support”. (19 years old male).
3. Information Communication literacy: We are able to access ocean of
information. Assessing the authentic information and passing it on to the needy is
another skill that every individual should possess. During emergencies lot of
rumours, unauthorised and fake messages are circulated. With the arrival of social
media, information gets forwarded easily and people need to be sensitised on
evaluating the authenticity of information before circulating.
a. “Before circulating any information to another person, I make sure that the
information is authentic”. (43 years old female).
It is essential for caregivers to provide understanding among communities on
psychosocial competencies and create opportunities to build psychosocial
competencies.

Remember
l Stressors are unavoidable and disasters magnify distress.
l It is essential to capacitate individuals / family / community with
psychosocial competencies that are necessary to deal with life stressors.
l Psychosocial competencies can be grouped into emotional, cognitive,
social, leadership and information skills.

19
 PSYCHOSOCIAL SKILL
CHAPTER 5 DEMONSTRATION (PSSD)
Psychosocial Skill Demonstration (PSSD) helps in reviewing the psychosocial
preparedness plan existing in the community or the organisation. This structured
reviewing helps in evaluating the readiness to psychosocial care activities in the
community during disaster times. It aims at evaluating the efficacy of psychosocial
response plans during emergencies.

Phases in psychosocial skill demonstration

01 02 03

PSSD Planning PSSD Post-Implementation

Hazard, Risk, Vulnerability PSSD Analysis of existing
Analysis, Comprehensive Implementation psychosocial plan, identify
Psychosocial Plan gaps and revise plan
when needed

Psychosocial skill demonstration helps in formation and strengthening of

psychosocial response teams. It also helps in assessing the knowledge and skills of
psychosocial response teams on how efficiently they act in the provision of
psychosocial care activities during disasters using the available resources. Along
with assessment of knowledge and skills, it should focus on evaluation of existing
protocols for psychosocial care services or formation of new protocols aiming at
standardising psychosocial care activities.
The objectives of psychosocial skill demonstration are:
l To review and revisit (if needed) the psychosocial care readiness plans during
emergencies.
l To evaluate the systems available to cater psychosocial care services.
l To frame or strengthen Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for psychosocial
care during emergencies.
l To sensitise multiple stakeholders on the roles and responsibilities in the
provision of psychosocial care services.
l To foster coordination among stakeholders.
l To form psychosocial response teams.
l To generate public awareness on psychosocial care during emergencies.
l To identify the gaps in existing structures (resources including both structural
and human resource, interaction and coordination).
l To enhance faster psychosocial response during emergencies.

20
Steps in conducting psychosocial skill demonstration

l Activities to be conducted prior to psychosocial skill demonstration

Identify place and stakeholders (Government/ non-government
organisation/ school/ community/ other agencies).
l Communicate to the agency.

Activities to be conducted on the day of psychosocial skill

demonstration
l Assess the psychosocial knowledge and skills of stakeholders.
l Evaluate the available SOPs on administration of psychosocial care
activities.
l Identify resources, systems and existing manpower.

Activities to be conducted post psychosocial skill demonstration

l Identify gaps in the existing structures.
l Reformulate SOPs and action plans.
l Create or recreate psychosocial response teams with updated
knowledge and skills.

Significant components to be focused during psychosocial skill demonstration

l Psychosocial needs assessment.

l Trauma assessment.
l Psychosocial triage.
l Resources available.
l Effective use of resources.
l Awareness on Psychosocial Support and Mental Health Services.
l Staff efficiency in rendering Psychosocial First Aid and Psychosocial Care.
l Emergency Psychosocial Response.
l Coordination and Communication among Stakeholders.
l Stakeholders' Knowledge, Attitude and Practice related to Psychosocial Support
and Mental Health Services.
l Available SOPs, Protocols, Plans and Systems related to planning, implementation
and evaluation of psychosocial support and mental health services during
emergencies.

21
How to conduct a psychosocial skill demonstration?

After adequate planning, the resource team visits the agency where the demonstration
is planned, the psychosocial skill demonstration will be conducted. Following are the
steps for psychosocial skill demonstration;

Step 1: Review of existing systems, resources, plans and protocols: The resource
team interacts with the stakeholders on the available systems, resources, plans
and protocols available in the agency in extending psychosocial support and
mental health services during emergencies. A detail reviewing of the available
documents would help in understanding the existing facilitators and barriers
to planning and implementing PSSMHS. The team also assesses whether a
Hazard, Risks and Vulnerability (HRV) analysis and Resource mapping (RM)
is done in the agency and reviews the blueprint of the HRV analysis and RM.

Step 2: Assessment of Participants' Knowledge on PSSMHS:This can be a

structured interaction or evaluation of participants' knowledge on PSSMHS
using appropriate assessment measures. This would reveal the stakeholders'
actual understanding and awareness about the concepts related to PSSMHS.

Step 3: Practice based Stakeholder Skill Evaluation: Using case-based discussions

and roleplays, participants' skills related to conducting psychosocial needs
assessment, psychosocial triage, psychosocial first aid, psychosocial care,
facilitating referrals and follow-ups are evaluated.

Step 4: SWOT Analysis: Based on the understanding from steps 1 to 3, the resource
team identifies the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats available in
the agency with respect to planning and implementing PSSMHS during
emergencies.

Step 5: Communication of the results: The resource team communicates the

identified strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats to the agency. The
communication should also provide information on stakeholder knowledge
and skills, available resources, limitations and gaps identified.

Step 6: Strengthening of systems: Future plan of action to enhance stakeholders'

knowledge and skills, establishment of systems, creation of service lines,
encouraging stakeholder collaboration, updating or revisiting the plans and
protocols related to planning implementation of PSSMHS.

22
Outcomes of Psychosocial Skill Demonstration

l Psychosocial skill demonstration acts as a medium to validate the psychosocial

contingency plans and test the existing facilities and personnel responsible for
administration of psychosocial care services.

l It helps in understanding the field challenges, shortages in the system,

knowledge / skill deficits among stakeholders, predictive indicators of confusion
and lack of SOPs.

l Understanding these limitations prior to impact will help in installing better

protocols.

l It also provides hands on experience for stakeholders to improve their

knowledge and skills.

l Conducting psychosocial skill demonstration strengthens the quality of

psychosocial care services and enhances productivity of psychosocial care
activities.

l It boosts confidence among stakeholders in planning and implementing

psychosocial support and mental health services.

l It increases the level of preparedness and accelerates prompt response.

l It develops critical thinking, assessment skills and provides hands on experience.

l It fosters better communication and coordination between stakeholders and

system.

Remember
l Psychosocial skill demonstration helps in reviewing the existing structures
to cater psychosocial care activities.
l It identifies gaps and aims at looking into alternatives to minimize or
eliminate the identified gaps.
l It helps in formulating a comprehensive psychosocial plan.

23
 CULTURAL SENSITIVITY IN
CHAPTER 6 DISASTERS
Culture refers to integrated patterns of human behaviour that includes language,
thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values and institutions of racial,
ethnic, religious, or social groups. It's a set of dynamic rules passed across generations
with evolutions based on the time on the attitudes, values, beliefs, norms, and
behaviours of the people concerned. Being culture sensitive is one of the important
elements in psychosocial management of disaster.

Cultural sensitivity is a series of techniques that helps one learn about different
cultures existing in the society, appreciate people from other cultures and accept their
cultural practices. It helps in generating awareness on cultural distinctions and
similarities. The significance of local knowledge and local experience in a form of
various coping strategies and mechanism is crucial as they are ingrained in people's
behaviour. They have been regarded as an important factor that support disaster risk
reduction.

The disaster response team must be culturally aware and recognize that appropriate
risk levels are cultural constructs that vary from culture to culture, and that the goals
for mitigation efforts will differ from group to group. This sensitivity would help
caregivers to be mindful of the prevailing cultural norms and would aid in devising
better disaster management initiatives. It would also foster community acceptance
and would encourage community participation.

Implementing a 'toolkit' which consists of shared values, traditions, worldviews, local

everyday experiences or collective memories that are culturally significant to specific
groups or populations can be expected to be more successful in fostering culturally
sensitive management in disaster scenarios. Thus, awareness of local culture is crucial
in local emergency planning process as it plays a key role in effectively responding to
disasters in a community.

Why caregivers need to be sensitive towards local culture?

l Influences people's knowledge, attitude and behaviours towards a given

phenomenon.
l Creates a sense of community.
l Moderate people's perception and readiness to accept services.
l Regulates daily practices.
l Fosters decision making processes and involvement.

24
CULTURE AND DISASTERS

Rituals

All human societies practice different rituals appropriate to their culture starting from
birth to death in everyday life. These are purposeful, generally repetitive and symbolic
activities. A sense of community “we feeling” and shared values can be strengthened
by these rituals, but their baffling diversity can also alienate and divide people,
particularly when the valued rituals of one culture are considered bizarre by another.
The rituals help individuals respond/adjust to disaster disturbances, and assist
individuals in recovering from disasters over longer periods. Cultural traditions and
ritualized acts are passed on through the generations and they help communities to
cope with the repeated hazards.

Religious belief

Religion and culture are intertwined in most societies. Religious beliefs can determine
how individuals interpret disaster risk, respond to disasters and recover from its
consequences especially in coping with the psychological distress churned by any
disaster. Positive views and beliefs give individuals a sense of hope, power over the
unrestrained time during and after the disaster and a reason to recover from their
losses. Religious practices contribute to relaxation and emotional well-being.
Disasters can either shake or strengthen individual's faith and existence of a supreme
power. Religious and spiritual beliefs play a significant role in recovery following a
disaster.

Bereavement practices

In every culture, the last rites performed to the deceased individual is inextricably
connected to religious values and sentiments. It prevails as an act of respect to the
deceased one and also acts as a system for grief alleviation for the family members.
Funerals are believed to be an essential step in the transition from the physical to the
spiritual realm, whether it was by reincarnation of the soul, as in Hindu religion, or a
life after death in another world, as Muslims and Christians believe. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, people were not allowed to follow the usual cultural practices
as a homage to the deceased individual and was not allowed to congregate. These
would affect the grieving process. The caregiver has to be mindful of the cultural
practices and allow minimal exercise of such practices while adhering to the
protocols. Individuals and families need to be taught to adopt a variety of approaches
to cope with the memories of the loved one. For initiating such practices, sensitivity
towards the local culture is very essential.

25
Along with the above-mentioned elements,
language, traditions, values, beliefs and mores also
form integral part of culture. The caregivers need to
have adequate sensitivity towards the cultural
underpinnings of the community. This can be done
during mock drills and psychosocial preparedness
initiatives where the caregivers can initiate
structured dialogue with the community to
understand the local culture. The caregiver needs to
be open in understanding the cultural elements.
This openness helps in minimising personal biases
and in instilling community cooperation.
INDIGENOUS PRACTICES AND CUES IN PREPAREDNESS
Indigenous knowledge forms its base from the advanced understanding of a group of
people on local environment. Beyond understanding, the indigenous practices are a
way of life in the adaptation process or means of survival from the crisis. This is
because of the fact that indigenous knowledge originates in the community and gets
disseminated non-formally as it is collectively owned by the community. Such body
of knowledge stemming from various methods and practices are been followed by
generations hailing from that community to reduce the risk, adapt and thrive from the
recent natural disasters. Having knowledge on indigenous practices and cues for
disaster risk reduction/preparedness plays an important role in effective care delivery
for the disaster workers/practitioners and policy makers.
Four primary arguments on significance of indigenous knowledge on disaster risk
reduction are (ISDR., 2008);
1. The indigenous knowledge and practices embedded in community which proved
its effectiveness in managing a disaster, can be adopted other communities
encountering similar situation.
2. It helps in increasing the participation of the community members from the
affected community to take leading role in disaster risk reduction activities.
3. Incorporating valuable knowledge existing in the indigenous practices from a local
context in planning a policy/program, enhances its effective implementation.
4. Non-formal means by which indigenous knowledge is disseminated provides
a successful model for other education on disaster risk reduction.
Indigenous practices in India as a means of DRR/preparedness
Just like every other country even in India people from different communities'
practice some of the strategies embodied in the indigenous knowledge specially in
response to natural disaster. India being a culturally diverse country has unique
practices across the sates from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Some such practices are
listed in the table below;

26
 State Indigenous practice
Jammu and Earthquake safe housing construction
Kashmir l Taq (Window) - Large pieces of wood or timber are used as
horizontal runners embedded into the masonry walls to prevent
spreading and cracking of masonry.
l Dhajji-Dewari (upper story walls) - timber frames for confining
masonry in small parcels and use of lean mud mortar.

Rajasthan
Environment friendly shelter / housing construction to get protection
from the heavy wind, sun and sand storm which are the common local
threats.

Assam
Soil and water conservation through Bamboo Plantation: Floods often
breach bunds (embankments) and damage roads that are important
links between villages. Planting bamboo helps to protect the bunds
from being breached and prevent rapid run off from the river channel
when the river overflows during heavy rainy days.

Arunachal Pradesh Prevention of natural disasters: The Aka tribe considers the
mountain VojoPhu as sacred and those who invades it will be
punished by the supreme power. This helps in forest conservation
and indirectly has helped in mitigating various natural disasters like
floods, drought and landslides.

Kerala Prediction of coastal hazards: ‘Kolu’ is a socially constructed

phenomenon related to forecasting and prediction of hazards. Some
of the predictors of Kolu especially in the fisherman’s community
connecting the inter-relatedness includes; smell of the sea and
cyclonic storm, color of the crab and storm (white crab: storm surge,
red crab: rain/wind etc.), presence of worms and rain/turbulent sea
etc.

Orissa
Prevention of water born disease: In the months of
October–November (Kartika months), the Oriyans refrain from
catching and eating fish. The reason is that the fish breed during
these months and may also be prone to disease.

Every state and different communities within the states have their own indigenous
practices. Some of them may be even common. For example, unusual barking of dogs,
chirping of birds, change in the color and movement of the clouds etc. are the cues to
predict the natural disasters like storms, cyclone, heavy rain falls, tornado, earthquake
etc. The relationship between indigenous knowledge and natural disasters has
developed more interest in recent years. While applying the indigenous knowledge,
practices and cues the disaster worker should be careful in distinguishing between the
misconceptions which would do more harm than good and the workable practices.
27
Remember

l Cultural sensitivity refers to understanding the culture of others, appreciating

them and accommodating them.
l Understanding the local culture helps in easy planning, implementation and
evaluation of services.

28
 DISASTER RISK COMMUNICATION
CHAPTER 7 (DRC)

Disaster Risk Communication (DRC) helps in empowering the disaster-prone

communities with knowledge and skills to mitigate disaster impact. DRC is an
ongoing process that can be implemented before, during and after any disaster.
Effective communication can be ensured by initiating interactive communication
flow between the system and the beneficiaries. The importance of DRC and
integrating the same with community preparedness activities has got much attention
in recent years. The disturbing off shoots of disaster can be managed or minimised
through prior DRC. Hence, it should not only aim at providing risk information to
individuals/communities but also empower them to adapt appropriate strategies at
individual and community levels.
Table 7.1: Disaster Risk Communication Framework
Communicator Content Medium Beneficiaries Outcomes
Before Impact
During Impact
After Impact

Who Risk Channels Target Expected

When? provides? conveyed used audience effect

Adapted from Rahman & Munadi, 2019

Steps in DRC Planning and implementation

Step 1 – Design
l Talk to the community and understand the purpose.
l Assess the target population (their knowledge, language & culture).
l Decide upon the medium for providing information on risk.
l Plan schedule for communication.
l Develop tools to assess the impact of DRC.

Step 2 - Pre-test
l Provide the developed information to a sample of population.
l Evaluate the impact of the communication.
l Do modifications if necessary.

Step 3 - Implement
l Coordinate with community people and other voluntary organisations.
l Use the pre-decided mediums and drive disaster risk communication.

Step 4 - Evaluate
l Analyse whether the field level implementation has achieved the purpose.
l Look for change in indicators (knowledge, attitude, beliefs and practices).
l Replicate or relook DRC based on the evaluation.

Step 5 - Make a policy

l Based on the results of the evaluation, create policy level changes for sustainability of the
intervention on DRC in the community.

29
 Figure 7.1: Types of Disaster Information

RECOVERY & PREPARATION &

RECONSTRUCTION MITIGATION PHASE
PHASE Information focus on
Information focus on awareness generation and
psychosocial care and community resilience
restoration of individuals, promotion.
families and communities.

EMERGENCY
RESPONSE PHASE
Information focus on
emergency care and
IMP
psychosocial first aid. ACT

(Adapted from Kondo, Hirose &Shiroshita, 2019)

Figure 7.2: Medium for DRC.

Individual and group interaction

Announcements through loud speakers

Telephonic conversation

Radio, Television, Internet

SMS, caller tunes

Social Media

Training of local information ambassadors

Helpline services

Written notices

Use of folk arts

Community campaigns

30
 Importance of DRC in different phases

RESPONSE
PREPAREDNESS

RECOVERY
l Collaborate with l Ensure l Build awareness
local community and communication to and instil hope.
governmental/non- enhance hope, l Communicate on
governmental security and social work done and
organisations. connectivity. intended plan of
l Provide consistent l Use crisp and clear action.
information communication. l Maintain
repeatedly. l Avoid flooding of transparency.
l Use appropriate disturbing materials. l Emphasis on
media. l Use affirmative and community
l Be open, clear and self-reliance participation and
honest. instilling ownership.
l Respect the information. l Provide authentic
community’s local l Have a check on information on
sentiments. rumours and focus rebuilding services.
l Use understandable on minimising l Deliver information
and appropriate them. on alternative living
language. strategies.
l Deliver prompt and l Give opportunities
authentic for transparent
information. feedback.
l Enforce rumour
reduction/prevention
measures.

(Adapted from Dodgen, Hebert & Kaul, 2017)

Outcomes of DRC
l Educates people on risks, hazards, vulnerabilities and existing capacities.
l Instils community belongingness, participation and cohesiveness.
l Unveils innovative, local, cost effective, culturally specific prevention or
mitigation measures.

Remember
Prompt and active DRC enhances individual/family/community
l

resilience.
DRC should be a continuous process in all the phases of disaster.
l

Effective community participation builds efficient DRC.

l

31
 PREPAREDNESS FOR
CHAPTER 8 VULNERABLE GROUPS

Vulnerable groups are individuals who have reduced capacity than the general
population due to certain genetic, physical and psychosocial determinants (age,
physical, psychological, emotional or cognitive predispositions, socio-cultural,
linguistic, religious, geographical or socioeconomic conditions) that create barriers
while receiving or processing information. Some examples of persons who are at risk
are women, children, older adult, sexual minorities, persons with disabilities and so
on. The biopsychosocial pre-existing conditions these individuals have make them
vulnerable even before disaster impact. Disasters amplify the intensity of
vulnerability among these populations and it would be difficult for them to access
services during and post-disasters if they are not adequately prepared in advance.
Hence, appropriate preparedness measures are essential to empower these groups to
respond promptly and diligently during emergencies. These preparedness activities
aim at creating emergency escape and contingency plans, building resource centres
where they can access information and can be trained on targeted skills, periodic
assembly and skill building, resource mapping and allocation, identification of needs
and concerns, preparation of emergency kits based on the vulnerability and fostering
psychosocial competencies to cope effectively. Meticulous preparedness measures
for this population would minimise casualty and worsening of psychosocial issues
during and post disasters. It would also enable better coping, adaptation and
resilience. Pre-existing vulnerability does not mean that these individuals do not have
any strengths. Care should be taken to validate and enhance their strengths despite
difficulties.

Steps in accelerating preparedness among vulnerable groups

The planning should focus on ways to identify and constantly keep in touch with
vulnerable groups using modalities (means) that are accessible to them, assess their
needs and enable key functionaries in planning and implementing preparedness
measures.

32
 Figure 8.1: Steps in accelerating preparedness among vulnerable groups

Identify and locate vulnerable groups in disaster prone areas

Assess the needs and concerns of vulnerable groups with focus on risk reduction

Sensitise stakeholders on the needs and concerns of vulnerable populations

Foster communication and collaboration between stakeholders

Aim at resiliency building before, during and post emergencies

Develop sustainable action plans to foster preparedness

Implement preparedness activities for persons at risk

Monitor and evaluate preparedness activities

Refine plans based on the arising needs

Barriers to conduct preparedness activities for vulnerable populations

l Difficulty in identification of vulnerable population.

l Poor availability of preparedness measures for vulnerable groups.
l Inadequate coordination among stakeholders.
l Lack of policies and plans promoting preparedness among vulnerable groups.
l Lack of trust towards the stakeholders due to past negative experiences.

33
 Table 8.1: Vulnerable groups, nature of vulnerabilities and activities that foster
disaster preparedness

Vulnerable
Nature of Vulnerabilities Preparedness Activities
Groups

l Dependency l School safety programmes (mock drills)

l Lack of support l School safety plans
l Poverty l Home safety plans
l Age l Psychosocial preparedness using life
Poor knowledge and skills skills approach
Children l

l Poor vigilance measures in the l Disaster related information in

society curriculum
l Accessibility to substances l Educating parents and teachers on
l Crime prone areas disaster preparedness
l Child safety education
l Gender differences
l Formation of support groups
l Lack of mobility
l Disaster risk reduction measures
l Societal restrictions
Women in self-help groups
l Poor support
l Gender specific training on
l Problems associated with
preparedness
reproductive and sexual health

l Age l Enhancing support

l Being alone l Education on older adult abuse
l Increased dependence l Taking the experience of older
Older adult l Easy vulnerability to diseases adults in disaster preparedness
and infections l Enabling psychosocial services
l Living in non-supportive for older adults
families
l Poor mobility
l Poor understanding l Involving persons with disability in
l Poor accessibility to resources planning
or communication Providing training on disaster risk
Persons with l

disability l Extreme dependence on others reduction and prompt response

l Poor psychosocial l Enabling communication using
competencies multiple modalities
l Increased caregiver burden

Function based approach for preparedness planning during emergencies

This framework focuses on enabling five basic functional needs for vulnerable
populations during emergencies, namely:
(1) Communication.
(2) Medical Essentials.
(3) Enabling Functional Autonomy.
(4) Supervision and.
(5) Transportation.
34
Function based approach for preparedness planning

COMMUNICATION: Vulnerable groups need different modalities for

communication that would help them to understand and respond better.
The limitations these individuals (to see, hear, access or understand) have
in accessing and assimilating information pose greater challenge. This
should also include persons who have no or decreased ability to read, understand or
communicate in a particular language. Multiple modalities of communication via
different mediums that can be easily accessed and understood by vulnerable groups
need to be developed and disseminated. For example, giving verbal announcements
along with simple posters with easily understandable pictorial content, deputing sign
language interpreters and persons who speak multiple languages in the resource
centre or places where these individuals assemble periodically can minimise barriers
in communication.

MEDICAL ESSENTIALS: It is essential to cater to the health needs of

vulnerable groups. While doing the psychosocial triage, the primary focus
should be given to non-ambulatory (persons who are not able to move)
patients, persons with chronic health conditions/ terminal illness/
contagious illness that mandate immediate medical attention/ persons
undergoing treatment and persons in immunocompromised state. Care should be
taken to make medicines, dialysis facilities, arrangement of containment zones,
facility to monitor vital signs regularly, ventilators and other medical essentials
available.

ENABLING FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMY: Early identification of

persons with vulnerabilities and screening for deterioration in the
functional autonomy skills within 48 hours of the impact would enable
faster recovery and help cater prompt medical services. This prompt
screening will also help in identifying and ensuring that they receive
essential medications, arranging for assistive devices (wheel chairs, crutches,
walking canes, hearing aid, etc.) that were lost or repaired during the disaster and
connecting with services or persons that would enable support in activities of daily
living and enable functional autonomy. Special attention needs to be given to those
persons who have lost their caregivers during the disaster.

SUPERVISION: Not all persons with vulnerabilities need support in

activities of daily living. As already told, it is essential to identify whether
vulnerable groups have adequate support from family, friends, community
and other social units. It is essential to understand the concerns of persons
with constant supervision needs (Ex: persons with dementia, intellectual
disability disorder, chronic mental disorders, children, etc.). Thereby identifying
support services for such individuals and connecting them to resources or individuals
that are capacitated to help such individuals.

35
 TRANSPORTATION: Prompt mobility during impact is essential.
Certain vulnerable groups especially older adult, persons with disabilities,
children who have no support, etc., might have significant difficulty in
responding quickly or moving to safer zones during impact. Emergency
response plans should also include plans for enabling movement of individuals who
have compromised mobility or who are dependent on others for their ambulatory
needs.

Strategies to empower vulnerable groups in disaster preparedness

Developing Registry

One of the barriers identified in rendering preparedness activities for vulnerable

groups is difficulty in identifying and locating vulnerable populations. A registry can
be developed which will have basic information about the vulnerable groups (name,
address, contact details, type of vulnerability, contact information of immediate
caregiver and so on). The purpose of the registry should be clearly communicated so
that persons would feel free to register and confidentiality of the details collected need
to be maintained strictly.

Utilisation of NGOs and CBOs

Nationwide different Non-Governmental (NGO) and Community Based

Organisations (CBO) cater to the needs of diverse populations with vulnerabilities.
The local understandings, cultural and linguistic coherences these organisations
share, help them in reaching faster to the vulnerable groups. The long association in
rendering services for these groups help in building their trust and it would be easy for
these groups to reach them. The NGOs and CBOs can be encouraged to integrate
disaster preparedness for vulnerable populations along with their routine services.
These can also act as resource centres for disseminating information pertaining to
disaster risk reduction and enhancing resilience.

Resource Centres

Resource centres can be created where persons can drop in periodically and gain
awareness on preparedness measures. These centres can act as portals to conduct
periodic rehearsals and capacitate vulnerable groups on psychosocial competencies.
These agencies can also periodically assess the needs and concerns of vulnerable
populations and design early warning messages that aid life-saving support during
emergencies. These also should aim at creation of accessible zones and should liaison
for policy generation and implementation, aiming at addressing the needs and
concerns of vulnerable populations during emergencies.

36
Risk Communication

It is essential to communicate risk and ways to safeguard oneself before, during and
after emergencies. Vulnerable populations have compromised ability to access
disaster related information. It is essential to deliver risk communication to targeted
vulnerable groups using modalities that can reach these groups easily or those
modalities to which these groups have access.

Use of Technology

In today's era, most people are becoming at ease with technological devices.
Technology can be used to disseminate information related to disaster risk reduction.
Mobile applications can be used to enable registration of vulnerable groups. Early
warning signs, disaster preparedness related information, information related to
training or capacity building, information on resources, etc., can be passed on through
these applications. This also would help in locating the person with vulnerability
during emergencies. It does not mean that traditional methods of communicating
should be avoided or minimally used as there might be significant number of persons
who might not be able to access technological devices.

Legislations, Policies and Programmes

The existing legislations favouring disaster preparedness for vulnerable populations

need to be implemented and new legislations need to developed. SDMAs and
DDMAs need to be sensitised on the implementation of programmes and services
focusing on enriching the knowledge and skills of vulnerable groups on disaster
preparedness. Proper sensitisation measures need to be tailored to capacitate
community in responding better to the needs of vulnerable groups living in the
community.

These strategies help in enabling vigilance among vulnerable groups and build better
response among them in the walk of disasters.

Remember
l Identification of vulnerable groups, lack of preparedness measures and
poor coordination among stakeholders are some of the barriers to aid
vulnerable groups.
l Function based approach enables preparedness planning among vulnerable
groups.

37
CHAPTER 9 CAREGIVERS AND PREPAREDNESS

Caregivers play a crucial role in planning, implementation and evaluation of

psychosocial care services before, during and after disaster. Generally, care
responders' machinery is activated during and post disasters. It is vital to involve
caregivers in the preparedness phase also. They can speedup community
preparedness by bringing the community together in the preparedness assessment,
planning and implementation of preparedness strategies.

What can 1. Formation of Response Teams

Caregivers
Identification of community resource team who will be
do in the responsible for planning and overseeing preparedness activities.
Preparedness It is essential to involve representatives from all the parts of the
Phase? community.

2. Evaluation of hazards, risks, vulnerabilities and resources

Conduct HRV analysis and Resource Mapping using

Participatory Rural Appraisal techniques.

3. Prepardness Planning

Determining priorities and formation of a preparedness or

emergency response plan. Framing goals, objectives and
strategies to achieve the goal.

4. Implementation and Evaluation

Training local community on disaster preparedness through

mock drills and exercises. Periodic reviewing of plan and
facilitating revisions if necessary.

38
 Table 9.1: Enriching the efficiency of caregivers
Areas Recommendations
l Being prepared to face adversity.
l Being persistent and consistent with the roles and
responsibilities.
Attitude/Behaviour l Having a sense of control and coherence.
l Working as a team.
l Knowing about the local culture.

l Adapting healthy lifestyle practices.

l Following routine.
Caring for themselves l Monitoring health status (physical and mental).
l Having a sound social life.

Systematic formulation l Standardisation of reports/ protocols/ SOPs.

l Maintaining a library of all documents and
other essentials.

Training l Disaster Risk Reduction.

l Disaster Response Planning.
l Emergency Communication.
l Participatory Rural Appraisal.
l Psychosocial Triage.
l Psychosocial First Aid.
l Psychosocial Care.
l Psychosocial Competencies.

Strategies for enhancing the roles of caregivers in the preparedness phase

l First responders or caregivers should have proper orientation about their roles
and responsibilities.
l Caregivers need training in effective leadership skills, planning, enhancing
community participation and involving multisectoral collaboration.
l Caregivers need to be sensitive to the psychosocial needs and demands of the
community they are working with.
l Caregivers need to foresee challenges that can arise during emergencies and plan
diligently to deal with them.
l Psychosocial preparedness needs to be given equal importance.
l Caregivers need to be trained on psychosocial assessments to understand the
varied and vibrant needs of the community.
l They should act as bridge between the needs and the services.

39
 l Caregiver must be culturally competent in training the community in
preparedness using local practices.
l The caregivers should aim at personal and community safety while carrying out
preparedness activities.
l They should have adequate knowledge about the community resources, existing
policies, organizations and programmes.
l They should collaborate with different governmental and non-governmental
organizations.
l They should be well versed with technology and other assistive devices that help
in spreading disaster risk communication.
l They should be able to train the community on preparedness, effective response
during emergencies, psychosocial care and other capacities.

Vulnerabilities among caregivers and caring for carers

Caregivers perform heroic tasks in the rescue, relief and rehabilitation phases. The
constant exposure to adversity in these phases would make them vulnerable to
psychosocial issues and mental health problems as discussed earlier. It is essential to
train caregivers to monitor personal as well their peer's mental health status
periodically. Caregivers are vulnerable to burnout, exhaustion and other mental health
issues due to non-cooperation from the community during the preparedness phase,
systemic challenges, policy level hindrances, poor collaboration between agencies
and so on. It is essential to have adequate debriefing and support from the peers, higher
authorities and associated systems. The caregivers need to have periodic trainings and
refreshers focusing on boosting their resilience and working ability in responding to
emergencies and preparing the community to cope with adversities. The caregivers
also need to learn the importance of working as team while prioritising, planning,
positively influencing the community and acting as a change agent in driving
individuals, families and communities towards the road to recovery.

Remember
l Care providers need to be trained on preparing the community in coping
with adversities.
l Care providers are also vulnerable to distress and need to be capacitated
with skills and resources to deal with their personal vulnerabilities.

40
CHAPTER 10 COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
BUILDING
Resilience is an individuals’ or community’s capacity to bounce back or deal
effectively with distress and reach earlier level of functioning using adaptive coping
patterns and resources. Though resilience might appear as a concept specific to an
individual, community resilience is the summation of individual resilience.
Community resilience is defined as the continual capacity of the community to
withstand and recover from any calamity (natural disasters or human-made
adversities). Every community has its own vulnerabilities and capacities. Resilience
building aims at identifying strategies to mitigate vulnerabilities and enhance
capacity to resist, anticipate, respond, cope and recover in the face of disasters. It
focuses on three cardinal elements:

1. To avoid, endure and deal with the stressors created by a disaster using adaptive
coping patterns.
2. To respond effectively as a community and recover diligently to the earlier level of
psychosocial functioning.
3. To strengthen the community’s preparedness using earlier experiences.

Well-being Sustainability

Awareness

Resilient Communities

Indicators of Community Resilience

Knowledge, Attitude Disaster Risk

and Reduction
Practices related to Communication
Disaster Preparedness Systems

Socioeconomic Preparedness
Wellness initiatives by
Governmental and
Non-Governmental
Organisations
Physical and
Mental Health
Cohesion

(Source: Chandra et al., 2011)

COMMUNITY
41
 ABC’s for building Disaster Resilient Communities
Awareness
Awareness generation should focus on two areas, namely: ways to enhance the
biopsychosocial well-being (physical, mental and social wellness) and disaster risk
and preparedness communication. Knowledge and adequate awareness on preserving
and promoting one's well-being and disaster risk reduction initiatives will help
individuals to respond better to disasters and foster prompt recovery post-disasters.
The community need to be sensitised on ways to preserve and enrich one's physical
and mental health, ways to build social ties/support, existing hazards, risks and
vulnerabilities, resources available and measures to be taken to minimise the effect of
disaster. Care should also be taken to ensure that the services designed are available to
everyone, easily accessible and affordable.
Behaviour Change
Knowledge should bring change in the individual's attitude and practice. Providing
awareness alone will not facilitate resilient communities but steps need to be taken to
enable communities to adapt strategies, to enable biopsychosocial well-being and
disaster preparedness. Community engagement and collective responsibility is
essential for facilitating behaviour change. This will also enhance the community
cohesion and belongingness. Communities should come together to discuss about
their issues, reach a consensus on strategies to connect the concerns with resources
and design individual, family and community plans to enhance resilience at all these
levels.
Continuation through collaboration
The aim of resiliency building programmes is creating sustainable and self-sufficient
communities. Building disaster resilient communities should be an ongoing activity.
It should be a democratic process (of the people, by the people and for the people). The
sustainability of pro-resiliency programmes in the community can be maintained
through intersectoral collaboration. Governmental and Nongovernmental
Organisations should collaborate with the local community to provide support and
guidance. To ensure the quality of service, proper evaluation measures need to be
positioned. Periodic reviews would aid in improving the resiliency building activities,
identifying gaps and rectifying them.
Strategies to strengthen community resilience
l Undertake risk and resource analysis in a systematic manner on disaster specific
future uncertainty, risky conditions and available resources.
l Foster coordination and collaboration between stakeholders.
l Identify gaps and accelerate systems to minimise vulnerabilities and risks.
l Enable equality of services and make sure the services reach all individuals in the
community.
l Capacitate individuals on adaptive coping behaviours.
42
 l Emphasise on prompt responsiveness.
l Maintain cultural coherence while designing activities.
l Build effective local governance systems.
l Ensure sustainability of services.
Community Resilience Building is not a one-time activity but is a timely activity. It
has to be planned adequately with public participation and intersectoral collaboration.

Commemoration of events
Disaster anniversaries and International Day of Disaster Risk Reduction can be
certain days in which specific assessments or review on community resilience
practices can be considered.
Anniversaries help to commemorate and remember the events that happened in the
past. Persons, places and circumstances associated to the adversity can induce re-
experiencing of disaster experiences.
One such catalyst that triggers recounting of disaster experiences is time wherein
people might have unpleasant emotional experiences (flashbacks, guilt, anger
outbursts, nightmares, etc.) for weeks to days closer to the disaster anniversary. These
reactions are normal responses to unresolved or pent-up negative emotions. Though
disasters contribute to agonizing pain and loss, survivors also learn resiliency skills in
the relief and reconstruction phases.

Why are Disaster Anniversaries Important?

l To evaluate the community's normalisation process.
l To acknowledge the pain and losses experienced by the community.
l To review prevention, mitigation and preparedness measures.
l To appreciate the efforts taken by different stakeholders who were involved in
the response, relief and rehabilitation phases.
l To support community's march towards disaster resilience.

th
Similarly, International Day of Disaster Risk Reduction (October 13 ) can be
celebrated. Here, the community can come together to review the disaster risk
reduction strategies that the community has adopted and revisit the working strategies
aiming at efficient disaster risk governance.

Psychosocial Resilience

Psychosocial resilience refers to an individual's positive emotional and social

response, and adaptation during situations (disaster, trauma, loss, etc.,) that cause
significant distress. It emphases not only on appropriate psychosocial response during
emergencies but also on reverting back to the earlier level of functioning.

43
 Figure 10.1: Factors favouring psychosocial resilience

Psychosocial Social Planning and

Self-reliance Optimism
competencies relationships action

Table 10.1: Psychosocial Resiliency Timeline

BEFORE DURING AFTER

l Monitoring one’s physical, l Accessing authentic l Reviving relationships.

mental and social health information. l Talking about disaster
status. l Following the rehearsal experiences through group
l Maintaining healthy instructions. interaction or individual
physical, psychological l Maintaining personal, sharing.
and social life. family and community l Understanding grief and
l Having a family or safety and security. moving towards acceptance.
community psychosocial l Accessing psychosocial first l Acknowledging the losses.
plan. aid and psychosocial care l Participating in community
l Developing an emergency services based on the need. rebuilding activities.
tool kit. l Adopting adaptive coping l Appreciating the positives
l Assessing the hazard, risk patterns. that happened after disaster
and vulnerability. l Monitoring the physical and and persons who were
l Preparing disaster risk mental health status of the involved in the community
reduction strategies. family members and rebuilding.
l Understanding individual, community. l Working on weakness and
family and community l Being close to the family threats.
resources. and community. l Enhancing strengths and
l Testing the plan in mock l Rendering support to family opportunities.
drills. and community. l Reviewing and reworking
l Psychosocial preparedness. on mitigation and
l Disaster risk. preparedness plans based on
communication. the lessons learnt.
l Resiliency building
strategies.

Remember
l Resiliency aims at capacitating individuals with skills that enable
adaptation and better coping.
l Community resilience is the summation of individual resilience.
l Resilience can be built by focusing on the well-being, awareness building
and sustainability of services.

44
 Section - 2
IMPLEMENTATION OF PSYCHOSOCIAL
SUPPORT AND PREPAREDNESS
 MULTISECTORAL
CHAPTER 1 COLLABORATION IN DISASTERS

Communities affected by disasters will be deprived of variety of psychosocial needs.

These multi-faceted needs cannot be managed by a single entity. It is hence essential
for different stakeholders to come together to foster better facilitation and
operationalisation of services. This collaboration of stakeholders establishes a
purposive relationship where organisations with diverse resources sharing a common
purpose come together. In this process, the stakeholders share information, good will,
resources and capacities.

Characteristics of intersectoral collaboration

l Interdependence.
l Common goals.
l Mutual cooperation.
l Reciprocal benefit.
l Shared ownership.
l Collective responsibility.
l Long-term commitment.

Table 1.1: Different stakeholders and their roles

Stakeholder Roles

Framing rules, policies and programmes; enabling flow of

Government activities; allotting funds and; conducting supervision.

Assessing the psychosocial needs of communities; fund raising;

NGOs programme planning; implementation and evaluation.

Gathering financial and other resources from different parts of the

Donors country or from other countries and reaching out to the needy.

Circulating authentic information on impact and services

Media (relief, helpline, risk reduction).

Academic Institutions Knowledge sharing; capacity building and; research.

Participation in planning, implementation and evaluation;

Community/citizens
resource preservation.

(Source: Al-Fazari&Kasim, 2020)

46
 Overall roles in rendering psychosocial support

Types of collaboration

l Vertical collaboration: Flow of activities from a higher order to a lower order.

Ex: From the state government to the local bodies.
l Horizontal local collaboration: Flow of activities between political institutions
that fall under the same hierarchy. Ex: From Department of Health and Family
Welfare to Education Department.
l Horizontal sectoral collaboration: Flow of activities between Governmental
and Non-Governmental Departments.

Facilitating Multisectoral Collaboration

Political assertion
Government is responsible for taking care of the citizens. Government functions as
different units/departments and the services are coordinated by/between them.
Political underpinnings on collaboration are essential to foster collaboration between
departments and with other stakeholders. Policies, legislations, plans and framework
governing and easing collaboration will facilitate the involvement, commitment and
continual action of multiple stakeholders in disaster management.

Identification and selection

Stakeholders who share common purpose need to be identified. Leaders need to be
identified to facilitate coordination and cooperation. The leader can be any
department who mainstream and oversee the planned activity. For example, in case of
psychosocial support and mental health services, Department of Health can remain
the nodal agency to plan, implement and monitor the services along with other
departments like Department of Women and Child Development, Youth Affairs,
Social Justice and Empowerment, etc., and other international, national and local
NGOs. A systematic mapping of sectors sharing psychosocial preparedness goals is
the first step to initiating collaboration.

47
Developing collaborative structures
Sustainability of planned activities is essential. Post emergencies multiple
stakeholders come together to attend the diverse needs of the disaster affected
population. The partnership between these agencies loosens as disaster management
phases progress from relief to rehabilitation. For the better community resilience, it is
essential to keep the psychosocial drill active through active involvement of multiple
stakeholders. The nodal agency (preferably Department of Health in alliance with
respective State Disaster Management Authorities) need to develop collaborative
structures. This should focus on regular meetings between stakeholders that would
foster understanding of mutual goals, avoid replication of services, facilitate
intersectoral discussion and vibrant planning and execution. This should also create
local response or resource teams that would help in reaching out the psychosocial
preparedness plans to the local community.
Collaborative Activity
The participation of multiple stakeholders is vital in the following activities:
l Joint needs assessment (HRV analysis, resource mapping, mapping the
psychosocial needs of disaster-prone communities, etc.).
l Sharing of information (exchange of information collected by multiple
partners).
l Identifying focal parameters (areas to focus, solutions to fill the gaps, better
preparedness and response initiatives).
l Planning (who is responsible, how the goals can be achieved, budget, etc.).
l Programme implementation (initiation of planned activities, dealing with
barriers, moving towards the goal).
l Evaluation (whether the goal is achieved, future plans).
l Continuation (localisation of services and proceeding towards another goal).
During the entire process, it is essential to maintain transparency, trust, accountability,
and effective communication.

Remember
l Stakeholders who share a common vision and purpose come together to
achieve the common goal.
l Transparency, trust, effective communication and accountability are
essential to maintain multisectoral collaboration.

48
 ETHICS IN DISASTER
CHAPTER 2 MANAGEMENT

Ethics are moral decisions or codes of conduct that help in judging what is right or
wrong in any given social situation. Persons working in disaster situations might
experience countless ethical dilemmas when resources are minimal and the target
population is vast. Understanding ethics to be followed before, during and after
disasters would help caregivers in enabling equity of services.

General Ethical Principles

Collective responsibility: Non-discrimination:
Efforts from different Accepting others
sectors aiming at building without any social,
the resilience of disaster cultural, or biological
survivors or communities differences and
prone to disaster. enabling services
reach all.

Prevention: Humaneness:
Aiming at Catering to the
prevention needs of
or worsening underprivileged
of (existing) , marginalised
physical, and other
psychological vulnerable
and social issues. individuals.

Sovereignty:
Catering to the
diverse needs
Neutrality:
of the persons
Treating everyone
in the
with respect and
geographical
dignity, being non-
location and
judgemental.
giving
emphasis to
human right.
Cooperation:
Working together
towards the common (Adapted from Prieur, 2012)
goal or purpose.

Ethics to be followed prior to disaster impact

The community need to be adequately sensitised and trained on pre-disaster planning
and preparedness to minimize risks in the event of disasters. Ethical principles help in
modulating equality of services while carrying out pre-disaster activities. Essential
ethical principles to be observed in the pre-disaster activities are explained below:
1. Equal accessibility of preventive strategies
The caregivers should aim at designing preventive strategies through participatory
approaches discussed earlier. Care needs to be taken that communication and service
pertaining to disaster risk reduction reaches all members in the community
irrespective of their vulnerabilities.
49
2. Enabling healthy ecosystem
Preservation of existing ecosystem and helping communities to restore polluted
environment.
3. Capacity building
Activities aiming at enhancing the resilience, adaptation and coping of individuals,
families and communities.
4. Adequacy in Information
Individuals need to be informed adequately about the hazards, risks, vulnerabilities
and capacities existing in the internal and external environments.
5. Community participation
Community needs to be encouraged to participate in planning, implementation and
monitoring of preparedness activities through learning experiences.
6. Right to expression
Community members need to be ascertained freedom of speech and expression
while designing and implementing preparedness strategies.
7. Equal access to services
Ensure equal access to preparedness services for every person in the community
irrespective of their vulnerabilities.
8. Exclusive preparedness
Focus on preparedness initiatives at workplace, recreational and tourist spots,
schools, hospitals and public places through preparedness plans, drills and periodic
trainings. Special attention to be given to the needs of vulnerable groups in the
disaster-prone communities.

Ethics to be followed during the disaster impact

Any disaster would trigger chaos and disorder in the community. Along with the
sudden confusion, the caregivers might experience increased ethical dilemmas.
Appropriate triaging helps in minimising the ethical dilemmas. Some of the ethical
principles that caregivers need to be mindful while dealing with survivors following a
disaster are given below:
1. Humanitarian assistance
Psychosocial first aid needs to be given to all the survivors of disaster.
2. Dissemination of Information
Information in terms of immediate resources, services available and rescue
operations need to be simple, precise, clear and consistent. Information should be
culture and language specific.

50
3. Evacuation
The community might have to move to relief centres or temporary shelters post-
disaster. Care needs to be taken that the family or community does not disintegrate
during the evacuation.
4. Respect of dignity and worth
It is vital to respect the dignity and worth of survivors. Though the disaster
survivors might be at the receiving end, the caregiver need to respect the rights of
the survivors and aim at instilling hope.
5. Focus on vulnerable groups
Any service should reach the persons in need of increased assistance (women,
children, older adult, persons with disabilities, etc.)

Ethics to be followed after disaster impact

After the impact, efforts focused on resiliency building accelerate and during this
phase, the caregiver need to observe the following:
1. Resilience building
Focus on sustainability of services and make the community own the activities
initiated as a part of community restoration.
2. Protection of rights
The economic, socio-cultural, civil and political rights of the individuals need to
be respected and protected.
Do's and Don'ts while working with disaster prone or affected communities
Working with personal bias & prejudices Accept individuals as they are

Misusing resources Respect the dignity

Exploiting the vulnerability of survivors Care for the vulnerable persons

Misleading beneficiaries
Protect the rights

Forcing individuals, families

and communities Provide authentic information

Involving in corruption Foster responsibility

Discriminating persons Enable community

participation

Remember
l Ethics are set of values and moral principles that help in making right
decisions.
l Care providers should focus on beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy
and justice while instrumenting services in disaster affected or prone
communities.

51
CHAPTER 3 DOCUMENTATION IN EMERGENCIES

Documentation is the process of writing and recording the activities. It serves as a

record for the work carried out, gives evidence of work done and acts as a resource for
future reference during emergencies. Documentation plays a vital role in intervention
settings. It is important to document all the key aspects and process that have taken
place in the setting. Documentation gives a larger picture of who has done what. The
process, human resource involved, activities carried out, plan proceeded, challenges
faced are the main ingredients of documentation. It ensures continuity of care.
Documentation helps in recalling events that took place in the past. It helps in getting
the procedure of what needs to be done next and also serves as major evidence while
dealing with complaints legally.
Why documentation?

Gives expertise knowledge in guidance,

Programme development supervision and decision-making.

Creates responsibility among stakeholders

Accountability and provides transparency in the work done.

Documentation provides information for

As an information source advocacy, awareness building, future projects,
training and material development.

Acts as a record for reference, identifies

problems, opportunities, provides adequate
Learning material information.
It is useful for students, scholars, researchers and
practitioners/stakeholders working in this area.

It provides information for monitoring

Evaluation and evaluation.

What to document?
l Aim and objectives of the intervention/programme.
l Number of cases seen, type of intervention provided, process of intervention
and outcome of the intervention.
l Specific observations in the process of intervention.
l Issues that might need further attention.
l Feedback from the clients/participants.
l Field experiences and challenges faced by the caregiver.

52
Types of documentation

Written reports

Proceedings of meetings with stakeholders

Video, photography, audio recording (permission need to be taken)

Success stories, best practices, challenges, revisions, etc.

Evaluation notes

Documentation formats
1. Goal, Response Intervention and Plan (GRIP)
Goal: The objective of the work to be emphasized.
Response: The feelings or emotions of the person/beneficiary.
Intervention: The details of services rendered.
Plan: Future course of action.
2. Data, Assessment and Plan (DAP)
Data: Both verbal and non-verbal communication/observation.
Assessment: Appearance, physical and mental health measures, family/social
functioning, psychosocial indicators of change (knowledge/ attitude/
practice/symptoms).
Plan: The follow up or plan of action for the next visit/level is focused in this stage.
3. Needs, Observation, Strategies and Evaluation (NOSE)
Needs: This section should contain information on whom the caregiver saw and what
was seen in the disaster survivor/community (issues and concerns). This helps in
understanding the needs of the disaster survivor/community.
Observation: The caregiver should record in detail his/her observations in terms of
the negative impact, strengths and resources.
Strategies: The detailed documentation of intervention provided to the
individuals/families/communities.

53
Evaluation: Any intervention aims at certain outcomes. This section should focus
on enlisting the outcomes that were achieved/not achieved, those that are in the
process and way forward. Evaluative measures need to be designed in advance.
Evaluation should be ongoing and should happen immediately after the
intervention.

4. Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan (SOAP)

Subjective Data: The information provided by the beneficiary or the person to
whom the care has been provided. These can be the person's explanation of pain or
acknowledgement of fear, experiences during different phases of the disaster.
Client's subjective input would help in creating a care plan.
Objective data: The subjective data obtained from the person can be viewed
objectively where the caregiver adds his/her insights on the care plan. Care should
be taken that personal biases need to be minimised while recording objective data.
Assessment: Assessment can involve both subjective and objective data and it
helps in understanding the existing issues/concerns, the needs of the affected
individual and it also provides an overview of a client's condition or improvement.
The assessment can help the caregiver to understand the issue for which
psychosocial support services initiated, if it got resolved and the goals/objectives
were achieved. This gives direction to the future course of action.
Plan:Specific orders to handle the client's issue, the gathering of additional data
about the problem, person or family and strategies to achieve the objectives.

Pointers for Documentation

Be clear and
precise
Ensure Follow
Confidentiality uniformity

Use appropriate
Abide the language and
Documentation
protocols terminologies

Provide Document
authentic in a timely
information manner

54
THINGS TO REMEMBER WHILE DOCUMENTING

l Information must be presentable and understandable with salient points that the
readers need to know.
l The documentation should include the personal details (name, age, education,
occupation, socioeconomic condition, etc.), family details (number of members
in the family, family relationships, family current functioning, etc.) and other
details related to the service (dates, services, service providers, etc.).
l Strict confidentiality needs to be ensured at all levels especially while taking the
beneficiaries' personal/family details.
l Informed consent (oral/written) need to be taken while taking any data (verbal
statements/photographs/video) from the beneficiary.
l The beneficiary should also be informed in advance why the caregiver is taking
such information and how it will be used.
l Appropriate masking needs to be done in case the documentation is a photograph
or a video.
l Information taken should be protected in a password-protected file. Currently
large number of computer applications are available to protect the safety/security
of the documents. Such applications can be used.
l Though digitalisation of work is important, along with ensuring adequate backup
for the information, old way of documenting (writing notes, maintaining
records/logs, etc.) also need to be adhered.
l Documentation should facilitate cross learning and ensure peer problem solving.
l A review team has to be formed which supervises the quality of the document.
l Mechanisms need to be maintained to store, retrieve and use the documents
created.
l Main purpose in documentation is to get a complete picture of interventions and
programs carried out in the field. Hence, documentation should be an ongoing
process.

Remember
l Documentation is a systemic way of writing reports that educate about the
work undertaken, its goals, progress, learnings and way forward.
l Documentation has to be an ongoing process.

55
CHAPTER 4 DEVELOPING ACTION PLAN

Any capacity building activity should aim at implementation of the objectives and
marching towards the goals. Action plan serves as a blueprint for caregivers to orient
them on what to be done, how it can be done, whom should they collaborate with, what
indicators need to be focused and how it can be measured. It helps in planning the
gradual stage-wise progression of the activity and ways to evaluate the
implementation. It enlists comprehensive indicators that ensures the flow of the aimed
goals and objectives. It should help caregivers identify tools that indicate the
movement towards the goal across the stipulated timeframe.

The action plan model given below helps in understanding the process of action
planning:

Here the caregiver has to communicate the findings of the needs assessment to the
community so that s/he can confirm that the service envisaged helps in addressing the
actual needs of the community. Then based on the feedback taken from the
community on the needs identified, the caregiver along with other stakeholders
develop strategies. The strategies developed gets translated to the local community
and in this phase, the caregivers implement the designed strategy along with the
community. Measures need to be identified and formulated in advance to evaluate the
outcomes.

Process of developing action plan

1. Set objectives

The SMART framework helps in developing effective objectives. The objectives

should be:

(i) Specific with well-defined goals.

(ii) Measurable to keep a track of the progress.
(iii) Attainable considering the time, money, experience and other resources.
(iv) Relevant to the objectives.
(v) Time bound to the set time-frame/deadline.

56
2. Assess objectives

Once the objectives are set, break down complex and more difficult tasks into
smaller parts that are easier to complete and manage.

Attention should be given to assess whether the objectives are in line with the goals
of the aimed activity. The caregiver should also identify the required resources like
funds, equipment and people to work towards achieving the goals.

3. Identify tasks to achieve objectives

The objectives designed to achieve the goal can be performed only through
strategies or tasks. The caregiver must ensure that each task is well-defined and
achievable. The tasks should be measured using indicators that would help in the
evaluation process.

4. Plan activities

The caregiver has to prioritize the tasks and restructure the plan developed earlier.
Before implementing the activities, foreseeing the challenges and obstacles are
important. This helps to minimise the confusion in future and facilitate flow of the
activities. The evaluation strategies also should be designed in advance to assess
the final outcome.

5. Create a timeframe

The timeframe should be realistic. Before deciding on deadlines, the caregiver has
to talk to the team/community/other stakeholders on their roles and
responsibilities. It is also important to balance between the time and goals to be
achieved.

6. Develop action plan

Action plans give the complete picture of tasks, target group, facilitators,
time frame, expected outcome, possible challenges, and other resources included in
the plan.

7. Midterm assessment

The caregiver has to assess the progress in completion of the tasks, towards
achieving the goal. If the direction of the plan is not progressing as expected, the
team can rethink the strategies and set alternative plans. The action plan can also be
modified accordingly.

57
8. Monitoring and Evaluation

The caregiver has to identify positive, negative, direct or indirect changes took place
in the process of implementing the action plans. This helps in keeping a track of the
targets to see Well-designed action plan gives a framework for the caregiver to
develop action plans. The caregiver should involve in collaborative discussion with
all the stakeholders and the community before developing the action plan. This helps
in identifying the indicators and implement the plan effectively.

Remember
l An action plan should involve communication, development,
implementation and measurement.
l Evaluation should be an ongoing process.

58
Level -3: Certificate Course on Psychosocial Preparedness

The PSP module can be provided as a certificate course. This level would focus on
enriching DRR skills and resilience among disaster prone communities. CLWs can be
proportion of persons trained in level 2, DDMA and DMHP personnel, Schools of
Social Work and University Departments of Psychology. The capacity building will
be a three months virtual certification programme. The participants will be provided
DRR and Resilience building manual cum facilitation guide and workbook. The
capacity building will focus on DRR skills, resilience building, preparedness among
vulnerable sections and caring for self. On completion of the course curriculum of 12
online sessions of two hours each and 17 resource material provided and completion
of assignments, case studies and other requirements they will be provided a
Certificate from NIMHANS and endorsed by NDMA/SDMA.

59
 NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT TRAINING MODULE-3
FACILITATORS GUIDE

Psychosocial Preparedness

March 2023

Jointly Developed by

National Disaster Management Authority National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences
(NDMA) (NIMHANS)
 CONTENT

Chapter Title Page No.

Section - 1
1. Preparedness in disasters 63
Psychosocial Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability
2. 64
(HRV) analysis
3. Resource mapping 65

4. Psychosocial competency 66

5. Psychosocial Skill Demonstration (PSSD) 67

6. Cultural sensitivity in disasters 68

7. Disaster Risk Communication (DRC) 69

8. Preparedness for vulnerable groups 70

9. Caregivers and preparedness 71

10. Community resilience building 72

Section - 2
1. Multisectoral collaboration in disasters 74

2. Ethics in disaster management 75

3. Documentation in emergencies 76

4. Developing action plan 77

60
 PROGRAMME SCHEDULE

No Name of Session Methodology Duration

1 Preparedness in disasters Brain storming and 90 min

discussion

2 Psychosocial Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Group activity and 120 min
(HRV) analysis discussion

3 Resource mapping Group activity 120 min

4 Psychosocial competency Case presentation and 90 min

discussion

5 Role play and group

Psychosocial Skill Demonstration (PSSD) 150 min
discussion

6 Sharing of experience
Cultural sensitivity in disasters 90 min
and Discussion
Brain storming and
7 Disaster Risk Communication (DRC) 90 min
group activity

8 Group activity and

Preparedness for vulnerable groups 150 min
Presentation

9 Group activity and

Caregivers and preparedness 90 min
discussion

10 Community resilience building Activity demonstration 90 min

11 Group activity and

Multisectoral collaboration in disasters 90 min
discussion

12 Brain storming and

Ethics in disaster management 90 min
case discussion

13 Documentation in emergencies Activity and discussion 90 min

14 Developing action plan Group presentation 90 min

61
 Section 1
PSYCHOSOCIAL PREPAREDNESS
 FACILITATORS GUIDE

Session 1: Preparedness in disasters.

Aim: To orient the participants on preparedness cycle and psychosocial preparedness.

Methodology: Brain storming and discussion.

Duration: 90 mins.

Process: Facilitator will give a brief introduction to preparedness in disasters and the activity 1 will
be conducted. After the activity the facilitator continues to discuss about the disaster preparedness
cycle and psychosocial preparedness in disaster.

Outcome of the session: Participants will understand the cycle of disaster preparedness.

Activity 1
Description of the activity: Planning for the disaster preparedness (group discussion).

Aim: To facilitate planning for the disaster preparedness at individual, family and community
level.

Duration: 90 mins.

Materials required: Three chart papers and markers.

The participants will be divided into three groups. Each of the group will be given different
topics, namely: (1) Individual level preparedness, (2) Family level preparedness and (3)
Community level preparedness. The groups will be instructed to plan the activities for given
topic. After discussion, the participants have to present the points to the whole group.

63
 FACILITATORS GUIDE

Session 2: Psychosocial Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability (HRV) analysis.

Aim: To help participants understand Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability (HRV) analysis.

Methodology: Group activity and discussion.

Duration: 120 mins.

Process: Facilitator will discuss about the HRV through progression of vulnerability framework
(figure 2.1). Following which the facilitator will discuss about the types of vulnerability,
vulnerability assessment, disaster risk and HRV analysis. The session will be concluded with the
activity 2 given below.

Outcome of the session: Participants will understand the concept of HRV and will be able to
conduct HRV analysis.

Activity 2
Description of the activity: HRV Analysis.
Aim: To orient participants on conducting hazard, risk and vulnerability analysis.
Duration: 120 mins.
Materials Required: Chart paper, color pens, pencil, erasers.
The participants will be grouped based on their localities and will be asked to map the hazards,
risks, and vulnerability using the materials provided. The facilitator guides them in the process
of their activity. In the end all the groups will be invited to observe HRV analysis done by each
group and clarify their doubts.

64
 FACILITATORS GUIDE
Session 3: Resource mapping.

Aim: To facilitate understanding on resource mapping.

Methodology: Group activity .

Duration: 120 mins.

Process: Facilitator will give an introduction to resource mapping and facilitates the activity given
below. Once the participants complete, the facilitator explains about the steps in resource mapping,
its need, importance and relevance to disaster preparedness.

Outcome of the session: Participants will understand the process of doing resource mapping.

Activity 3
Description of the activity: Map the resource.

Aim: To facilitate understanding in participants on conducting resource mapping.

Duration: 120 mins.

Materials Required: Chart paper, color pens, pencil, erasers.

The participants will be grouped based on their place of stay (domicile). The groups will be
asked to map the resources that are available in their community. Once the activity is
completed each of the groups will be asked to present it to the entire groups of participants.

65
 FACILITATORS GUIDE
Session 4: Psychosocial competency.

Aim: To create understanding about the psychosocial competency in the participants.

Methodology: Case presentation and discussion.

Duration: 90 mins.

Process: Facilitator discusses about the psychosocial competency and skills required to enhance
psychosocial competency. An activity given below will be conducted and the session will be
concluded.

Outcome of the session: Participants will develop the skills required to build psychosocial
competency

Activity 4
Description of the activity: Psychosocial competencies building (role play).

Aim: To orient participants on the essential psychosocial competencies required for

mitigating disaster risk.

Duration: 90 mins.

Materials Required: Case vignettes.

Facilitator shows the case vignettes and the participants will be encouraging to share their
observations about the skills used. Discussion will be generated based on what is been
observed by the participants and the facilitator adds on his/her points wherever required.

66
 FACILITATORS GUIDE
Session 5: Psychosocial Skill Demonstration (PSSD).

Aim: To make the participants understand the significance of psychosocial skill demonstration and
the steps to do it.

Methodology: Role play and group discussion.

Duration: 150 mins.

Process: Facilitator will give an introduction to PSSD, phases in PSSD and its objectives, steps in
conducting PSSD and the significant components need to be focused. The activity given below will
be conducted and outcome of the PSSD will be discussed.

Outcome of the session: Participants will understand the significance of PSSD and will be able to
demonstrate it.

Activity 5
Description of the activity: Psychosocial skill demonstration (before, during and after).

Aim: To help participants understand the concept of PSSD.

Duration: 150 mins.

Materials Required: Nil.

The participants will be divided into three groups. The first group will be asked to do a role
play on psychosocial support activities before the impact (focus on preparedness), second
group to perform a role play on psychosocial support activities during the impact (response)
and the third group on psychosocial support activities post disaster (reconstruction and
restoration). Once each group finishes, the facilitator provides corrective feedback on role of
psychosocial support services during each of these phases.

67
 FACILITATORS GUIDE
Session 6: Cultural sensitivity in disasters.

Aim: To make the participants understand the need to develop cultural sensitivity in disasters.

Methodology: Sharing of experience and Discussion.

Duration: 90 mins.

Process: Facilitator will discuss about the culture sensitivity in disaster, indigenous practices and
cues in preparedness, especially in India. The session will be concluded with the activity given
below.

Outcome of the session: Participants will understand the significance of developing culture
sensitivity in disaster.

Activity 6
Description of the activity: My Culture.

Aim: To encourage participants to learn from each other’s culture.

Duration: 90 mins.

Materials Required: Nil.

The participants will be asked to talk about the unique cultural practices that they practice and
its importance. Once participants finish, the facilitator connects from they shared about the
significance of culture in disasters and why the caregivers need to culturally competent.

68
 FACILITATORS GUIDE
Session 7: Disaster Risk Communication (DRC).

Aim: To facilitate understanding in the participants about the disaster risk communication (DRC).

Methodology: Brain storming and group activity.

Duration: 90 mins.

Process: Facilitator will give an introduction to DRC, steps in DRC planning and implementation,
types of disaster information and mediums of DRC. After that, the activity 7 will be conducted. The
facilitator continues discussion on importance of DRC in different phases and the outcome of DRC.

Outcome of the session: Participants will be able to do DRC.

Activity 7
Description of the activity: Preparing a DRC Sample (Group activity).

Aim: To educate participants on disaster risk communication.

Duration: 90 mins.

Materials Required: Three chart papers.

The participants will be divided into three groups and each group has to discuss and come up
with a disaster risk reduction material. The DRC material should comprise of the following:

1. Who gives the communication for whom?

2. What will the DRC convey?
3. What mediums will be used to communicate disaster risk?
4. What are the expected outcomes?

The facilitator informs the participants to ensure cultural specificity and inclusion of
vulnerable groups in the DRC. After each presentation, the facilitator provides insights on
improving the DRC plan.

69
 Facilitators Guide
Session 8: Preparedness for vulnerable groups.
Aim: To enhance the participants knowledge on preparedness for vulnerable groups.
Methodology: Group activity and Presentation.
Duration: 150 mins.
Process: Facilitator will give an introduction to preparedness for vulnerable groups, steps in
accelerating preparedness among vulnerable groups, barriers to conduct preparedness activities for
vulnerable populations, activities to foster disaster preparedness, function-based approach for
preparedness planning and strategies to empower vulnerable groups in disaster preparedness. An
activity given below will be conducted and the session will be concluded.
Outcome of the session: Participants will be able to plan strategies to empower vulnerable groups in
disaster preparedness.

Activity 8
Description of the activity: Preparing vulnerable groups to deal with disasters.
Aim: To impart skills in participants on empowering vulnerable groups in disaster
preparedness.
Duration: 150 mins.
Materials Required: Six chart papers and markers.
The participants will be divided into six groups and each group will be given the following
vulnerable groups: (1) Children, (2) Women, (3) Elderly, (4) Persons with physical
disabilities, (5) Persons with mental disabilities, (6) Sexual minorities. The groups will be
asked to discuss and come up with a preparedness plan for the allotted vulnerable group. The
plan should comprise of the activities that can be done, how it will be done, mediums that will
be used, expected barriers and required resources. Once the groups present, the facilitator
shares her/his observations.

70
 Facilitators Guide
Session 9: Caregivers and preparedness.
Aim: To help participants understand the role of caregivers in disaster preparedness.
Methodology: Group activity and discussion.
Duration: 90 mins.
Process: Facilitator will discuss about the role of caregivers in preparedness phase. The activity 9
will be conducted. Followed by the activity the facilitator discusses about the areas to enrich the
efficiency of caregivers, strategies for enhancing their roles, vulnerability among caregivers and
caring for carers.
Outcome of the session: Participants will get an insight on the role of caregivers and also the need to
care for the carers.

Activity 9
Description of the activity: Trust Walk.
Aim: To orient participants on the roles and functions of caregivers in the preparedness phase.
Duration: 90 mins..
Materials Required: Thick black ribbons/cloth for all.
The participants will be asked to group as pairs of two. One of the participants in the group is to
be blindfolded and the other person has to take him or her around for three minutes. After three
minutes, the roles get reversed and the activity continues for another 3 minutes. After the
activity, the participants will be asked to share their experiences. The facilitator informs that
during the preparedness phase, the care provider has to initially built trust among the
community members and it serve as a base for all the other activities.

71
 Facilitators Guide
Session 10: Community resilience building.
Aim: To orient the participants on building resilience in the community.
Methodology: Activity demonstration .
Duration: 90 mins.
Process: Facilitator will introduce the topic and activity 10 will be conducted. After which
facilitator discusses the indicators of community resilience, ABCs of building disaster resilient
communities, strategies to strengthen community resilience and psychosocial resilience.
Outcome of the session: Participants will understand significance of community resilience.

Activity 10
Description of the activity: The resilient bottle.
Aim: To teach participants on the importance of community resilience.
Duration: 90 mins.
Materials Required: Empty bottle, pebbles, sand and water.
The facilitator shows an empty bottle to the participants and some pebbles to put it in. Looking
at the quantity of pebbles, the participants need to say how many pebbles needed to fill the
bottle. Once the bottle is filled with pebbles the facilitator takes out sands and started pouring
inside the bottle. Later the facilitator pour water inside the bottle until its full. Then the
facilitator connects the activity to the importance of community resilience.

72
 Section 2
IMPLEMENTATION OF PSYCHOSOCIAL
SUPPORT AND PREPAREDNESS
 Facilitators Guide
Session 1: Multisectoral collaboration in disasters.
Aim: To make the participants understand importance of multisectoral collaboration in disasters.
Methodology: Group activity and discussion.
Duration: 90 mins.
Process: The session begins with the activity 1. Followed by which the facilitator will discuss about
the multisectoral collaboration in disasters, characteristics of intersectoral collaboration, different
stakeholders, types of collaboration, and facilitating multisectoral collaboration.
Outcome of the session: Participants will understand the significance of multisectoral
collaboration.

Activity 1
Description of the activity: Working together.
Aim: To orient participants on the importance of multisectoral participation.
Duration: 90 mins.
Materials Required: Puzzles (two sets).
The facilitator calls six volunteers. Five of the volunteers will be given one set of puzzles and
the remaining one is given another set of the puzzle. The task is to see who completes the
puzzle first.

74
 Facilitators Guide
Session 2: Ethics in disaster management.
Aim: To understand the ethics in disaster management.
Methodology: Brain storming and case discussion.
Duration: 90 mins.
Process: The session begins with the following brainstorming exercise. After the activity the
facilitator will discuss about the general ethical principles, and ethics to be followed prior, during
and after disaster. The session will be concluded with the discussion on dos and don’ts while
working with disaster prone or affected communities.
Outcome of the session: Participants will gain understanding on the ethics to be followed in disaster
management.

Activity 2
Description of the activity: Ethics in Disaster Management (case discussion).
Aim: To brainstorm participants on disaster related ethics.
Duration: 90 mins.
Materials Required: List of cases.

The facilitator will generate discussion by exploring participants understanding on ethics

related to disaster related work by giving some case examples given below;

Case 1: The psychosocial caregiver has developed disaster preparedness activities to a

disaster-prone community without consulting any of the community member.

Case 2: Since a sudden red alert for tsunami was declared at a community, people were
evacuated and shifted to relief centres. In the process many of the families got disintegrated to
different relief camps.

Case 3: The caregiver knew that a woman who lost her husband and 9 years old child in the
train accident had significant grief. However, she was not willing to share her distress. Hence
the caregiver insisted her to share her concerns if she really wanted to be helped.

75
 Facilitators Guide
Session 3: Documentation in emergencies.
Aim: To understand the documentation in emergencies.
Methodology: Activity and discussion.
Duration: 90 mins.
Process: The facilitator will introduce the topic and conducts the activity 3. Once the activity is done
the facilitator discusses about the importance of documentation, types of documents, format of
documentation and the things to remember while documenting.
Outcome of the session: Participants will understand the importance of documentation during
emergencies.

Activity 3
Description of the activity: Documentation in emergencies.

Aim: To make the participants understand the importance of documentation.

Duration: 90 mins.

Materials Required: Cloth/news paper.

In a table various item (pen, book, paper, pencil, watch, clip, pins, stick notes etc) will be
randomly placed. Participants will be invited to come in small groups and observe the items
for 30 seconds and it will be covered in a newspaper or cloth. Some of the groups will be
allowed to make a note of thins they have observed and some won’t be allowed to make a list.
Once everybody finishes their turn, the facilitator asks the participants who were not allowed
to make a note to recall and tell what all they have observed. Then the participants who took
note will be given a chance to tell. The activity will be concluded with the sharing of
participants learning from the activity and connecting it to the importance of documentation.

76
 Facilitators Guide
Session 4: Developing action plan.
Aim: To provide insight to the participants on development of action plan.
Methodology: Group presentation.
Duration: 90 mins.
Process: The facilitator will discuss about the model of action plan and the process of developing
action plan. An activity given below will be conducted and the session will be concluded.
Outcome of the session: Participants will understand how to develop an action plan.

Activity 4
Description of the activity: Action plan and evaluation.
Aim: To orient participants on developing action plan.
Duration: 90 mins.
Materials Required: 3 Chart papers and markers.
Facilitator divides the participants into three groups of 5 to 6. The groups will be given the
following topics:
Group 1: Action plan pre-disaster.
Group 2: Action plan during disaster.
Group 3: Action plan post disaster.
After discussion, the group leaders present their action plans to the wider group. The facilitator
then provides corrective feedback on the presentation at different phases of disaster.

77
 NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT TRAINING MODULE-3
WORK BOOK

Psychosocial Preparedness

March 2023

Jointly Developed by

National Disaster Management Authority National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences
(NDMA) (NIMHANS)
 CONTENT

Chapter Title Page No.

Section - 1
1. Preparedness in disasters 80-81
Psychosocial Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability
2. (HRV) analysis 82-84

3. Resource mapping 85-86

4. Psychosocial competency 87-88

5. Psychosocial Skill Demonstration (PSSD) 89-90

6. Cultural sensitivity in disasters 91-92

7. Disaster Risk Communication (DRC) 93-95

8. Preparedness for vulnerable groups 96-97

9. Caregivers and preparedness 98

10. Community resilience building 99

Section - 2
1. Multisectoral collaboration in disasters 101

2. Ethics in disaster management 102-103

3. Documentation in emergencies 104-105

4. Developing action plan 106

79
CHAPTER 1 PREPAREDNESS IN DISASTERS

Preparedness cycle

Evaluate
and Plan
improve

Preparedness
Cycle
Exercise Organise

Train

Building capacity of individuals, families and communities on preparedness

INDIVIDUAL LEVEL PREPAREDNESS FAMILY LEVEL PREPAREDNESS

COMMUNITY LEVEL PREPAREDNESS GOVERNMENT LEVEL PREPAREDNESS

80
Principles of psychosocial preparedness

81
 PSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARD, RISK AND
CHAPTER 2 VULNERABILITY (PS-HRV) ANALYSIS

Progression of vulnerability
Hazard

Vulnerability +
DISASTER

Disaster =

Hazard
Conditions
Unsafe
Pressures
Dynamic
Underlying
Causes

82
 Types of vulnerability with examples
Types of vulnerability Examples

Key area of vulnerability assessment

Linear Progression from vulnerability to disaster

83
Psychosocial Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Analysis

Phases of PS-HRV Analysis

PHASE 1

PHASE 2

PHASE 3

PHASE 4

PHASE 5

84
CHAPTER 3 RESOURCE MAPPING

Steps in Resource Mapping

Pre-mapping

Mapping

85
Action

Post Action

86
CHAPTER 4 PSYCHOSOCIAL COMPETENCY

Skills required to enhance psychosocial competency

Emotional Skills

Cognitive Skills

87
Social & Civic Skills

Leadership Skills

Information Skills

88
 PSYCHOSOCIAL SKILL
CHAPTER 5 DEMONSTRATION (PSSD)

Phases in psychosocial skill demonstration

01 02 03

Steps in conducting psychosocial skill demonstration

89
How to conduct a psychosocial skill demonstration?

90
 CULTURAL SENSITIVITY IN
CHAPTER 6 DISASTERS

Cultural & Disasters

91
Indigenous practices in India as a means of DRR/preparedness

State Indigenous practice

Jammu and
Kashmir

Rajasthan

Assam

Arunachal Pradesh

Kerala

Orissa

92
 DISASTER RISK COMMUNICATION
CHAPTER 7 (DRC)
Disaster Risk Communication (DRC)

Types of Disaster Information

IMP
ACT

93
Mediums for DRC

94
 Importance of DRC in different phases

RESPONSE
PREPAREDNESS

RECOVERY

95
 PREPAREDNESS FOR
CHAPTER 8 VULNERABLE GROUPS
Steps in accelerating preparedness among vulnerable groups

Vulnerable groups, nature of vulnerabilities and activities that foster disaster preparedness

Vulnerable
Groups Nature of Vulnerabilities Preparedness Activities

Children

Women

Older adult

Persons with
disability

96
Function based approach for preparedness planning

Strategies to empower vulnerable groups in disaster preparedness

97
CHAPTER 9 CAREGIVERS AND PREPAREDNESS

Enriching the efficiency of caregivers

Areas Recommendations

Attitude/
Behaviour

Caring for
themselves

Systematic
formulation

Training

Strategies for enhancing the roles of caregivers in the preparedness phase

98
CHAPTER 10 COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
BUILDING

Indicators of Community Resilience

Factors favouring psychosocial resilience

Psychosocial Resiliency Timeline

BEFORE DURING AFTER

99
 Section - 2
IMPLEMENTATION OF PSYCHOSOCIAL
SUPPORT AND PREPAREDNES
 MULTISECTORAL
CHAPTER 1 COLLABORATION IN DISASTERS

Different stakeholders and their roles

Stakeholder Roles
Government

NGOs

Donors

Media

Academic Institutions

Community/citizens

Types of collaboration

Vertical collaboration

Horizontal local
collaboration

Horizontal sectoral
collaboration

Facilitating multisectoral collaboration

101
 ETHICS IN DISASTER
CHAPTER 2 MANAGEMENT

General Ethical Principles

Ethics to be followed prior to disaster impact

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Ethics to be followed during to disaster impact

Ethics to be followed after disaster impact

Do's and don'ts while working with disaster prone or affected communities

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CHAPTER 3 DOCUMENTATION IN EMERGENCIES

Programme development

Accountability

As an information source

Learning material

Evaluation

Types of documentation

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 Pointers for Documentation

Documentation

Things to remember while documenting

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CHAPTER 4 DEVELOPING ACTION PLAN

The action plan model

Process of developing action plan

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References
1. Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., Davis, I. & Wisner, B. 1994. At Risk: Natural Hazards,
People’s Vulnerability, And Disasters. London: Routledge. 284 P.
2. Chandra, A., Acosta, J., Howard, S., Uscher-Pines, L., Williams, M., Yeung, D., ...
& Meredith, L. S. (2011). Building community resilience to disasters: A way
forward to enhance national health security. Rand health quarterly, 1(1).
3. Dodgen, D., Hebert, W., & Kaul, R. (2017). Risk Communication in Disasters:
Promoting Resilience. In R. Ursano, C. Fullerton, L. Weisaeth, & B. Raphael
(Eds.), Textbook of Disaster Psychiatry (pp. 162-180). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. doi:10.1017/9781316481424.012
4. Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2010). Declared disasters by year or
state.
5. IASC Reference Groups MHPSS. IASC Guidance on Operational Considerations
for Multisectoral Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Programmes during
the COVID-19 Pandemic; IASC: Geneva, Switzerland, 2020; Available online:
[Link]
and-psychosocial-support-emergency-settings/iasc-guidance-operational-
considerations-multisectoral-mental-health-and-psychosocial-support (accessed
on 6 May 2022)(In Multiple Languages).
6. Kondo, S., Hirose, Y., & Shiroshita, H. (2019). Risk communication and disaster
information. Science of Societal Safety: Living at Times of Risks and Disasters,
129-140.
7. National Disaster Management Guidelines: Psycho-Social Support and Mental
Health Services in Disasters, 2009. A publication of the National Disaster
Management Authority, Government of India. ISBN 978-93-80440-00-2,
December 2009, New Delhi.
8. NDMA. (2021). Annual Report. New Delhi: National Disaster Management
Authority.
9. Prieur, M. (2012). Ethical principles on Disaster Risk Reduction and People's
Resilience (2012).
10. Rahman, A., &Munadi, K. (2019, June). Communicating risk in enhancing
disaster preparedness: A pragmatic example of disaster risk communication
approach from the case of Smong Story. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and
Environmental Science (Vol. 273, No. 1, p. 012040). IOP Publishing.
11. Saeed, A. F., &Kasim, N. (2019). Role of stakeholders in mitigating disaster
prevalence: Theoretical Perspective. In MATEC Web of Conferences (Vol. 266, p.
03008). EDP Sciences.
12. World Health Organization. (2011). Psychological first aid: Guide for field
workers. World Health Organization.

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Project Advisory Committee (PAC)
1. Shri. Krishana S Vatsa, Member, National Disaster Management Authority,
and PAC Chairman, New Delhi.
2. Dr. Nimesh Desai, Director, Institute of Human Behavior and Allied Sciences
(IHBAS), Delhi.
3. Dr. Jacqueline Joseph, Professor, Centre for Disaster Management, Jamsetji
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
4. Ms. Sindhuja Khajuria, UNICEF, Communication Consultant, New Delhi.
5. Dr. Atreyi Ganguli, National Professional Officer, Mental Health and
Substance Abuse, WHO, India.
6. Dr. Saurabh Dalal, National Professional Officer, Emergency Risk and Crisis
Management, WHO, India.
7. Shri. Maître Mukerji, Senior Consultant, National Disaster Management
Authority, New Delhi.

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Project Team
Dr. K. Sekar, Former Prof. and Head, Department of Psychosocial Support in
Disaster Management, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences,
Bangalore.
Dr. Jayakumar C, Associate Professor, Principal Investigator, Department of
Psychosocial Support in Disaster Management, National Institute of Mental Health
and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore.
Dr. Patrick Jude, Project Coordinator, Department of Psychosocial Support in
Disaster Management, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences,
Bangalore.
Dr. Veena Sree, Project Coordinator, Department of Psychosocial Support in Disaster
Management, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore.
Mrs. Jayashree, Project Associate, Department of Psychosocial Support in Disaster
Management, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore.
Mrs. Aleena Mathai, Project Associate, Department of Psychosocial Support in
Disaster Management, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences,
Bangalore.
Ms. Irien Joe, Project Associate, Department of Psychosocial Support in Disaster
Management, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore.

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