None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This is a project that aims to help communities who were impacted by the 2019-2020 Black Summer Bushfires. The focus is on recovery after the bushfires and increasing resilience to natural disasters within the community, which may help with recovery efforts for possible bushfires or other events in the future. We are looking at working with the local communities to help with recovery and community wellbeing after the bushfires and also to build preparedness for any future bushfires (should they occur again). It is our aim to obtain information from local residents who have experienced bushfires and utilise their experiences and input to produce a programme that will also help future communities in Australia to recover from bushfires.
Interventions
The intervention is a single day workshop, conducted face-to-face at a community centre in regional NSW. The workshop will run for a duration of 8 hours and each participant will attend the workshop once. The intervention will be delivered for up to 20 participants who will receive the same intervention and simultaneously in a group setting. The workshop will be delivered by registered Clinical Psychologists with a minimum of 5 years experience and co-led by community leaders and stakeholders. T
The intervention is a single day workshop, conducted face-to-face at a community centre in regional NSW. The workshop will run for a duration of 8 hours and each participant will attend the workshop once. The intervention will be delivered for up to 20 participants who will receive the same intervention and simultaneously in a group setting. The workshop will be delivered by registered Clinical Psychologists with a minimum of 5 years experience and co-led by community leaders and stakeholders. The workshop is subdivided into 5 foci which serve as stand-alone modules. Each module, and thus the entire intervention, involves information provision, discussions led by community leaders and stakeholders, interactive activities such as devising preparedness, and accompanying worksheets for each module. The modules are; 1) bushfire curricula, peer support/community cohesion, 2) wellbeing and mental health literacy, 3) facing stress and coping, 4) physical preparedness, protecting your home and family, 5) feeling emotionally prepared, psychological preparedness, and 6) bringing it all together. The intervention, including all modules and worksheets, were adapted from the Community-based disaster mental health intervention (CBDMI) reported by Whelton-Mitchell (2018, PMID: 30223822). Dr. Whelton-Mitchell was responsible for adapting and tailoring the CBDMI in this intervention.
Sponsors
Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Single group
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Eligible participants are a) persons age 18 years and over, b) who self-identify as a member of the bushfire affected community in the Northern Tablelands region of NSW, c) have lived and worked in the community during the fires and continue to reside within the bushfire affected community, and d) report having been directly or indirectly impacted by the 2019 – 2020 bushfires. Direct exposure includes having protected property or livestock; having been evacuated or relocated; experiencing loss of property, family, friend/s, and/or livestock; or having served as a firefighter or first responder. Indirect exposure includes having heard recounts of the bushfires and their effects on the community second hand.
Exclusion criteria
Ineligible participants are those not fluent in English or individuals who reside outside of the recruitment catchment area or are judged by clinicians as under the influence of alcohol or substance or have any other significant impediment to participation.
Outcome results
None listed