The Role of Psychosocial Support Response for the Elderly in Disasters and Emergencies

Introduction: The special situation of the elderly in disasters is a social challenge. Older people are more prone to cognitive impairment, chronic diseases and mobility problems that limit their ability to deal with disasters. Some elderly people may have limited mobility. Many elderly survivors are neglected. The issue of mental health in disasters in Iran started from the Rudbar earthquake in ۱۳۶۹, when mental health services were defined as a subset of the health committee. Since then, many activities have been carried out in the field of mental health, and the purpose of this research is to identify activities related to the response phase of psychosocial support in the elderly.Material and Methods: This applied research is compiled with an emphasis on national and international documentation on the response of psychosocial support in emergency disasters. In the study of the texts, the documents available in the field of the Ministry of Health, scientific articles, related books, and searches on the Websites related to the field of mental health were used. The findings were summarized in predetermined forms.Results: The findings of the research showed that paying attention to establishing proper communication with the victims, choosing appropriate words in counseling people, especially the elderly, preparing to provide community-oriented programs to empower survivors as a group, participation of survivors in programs, paying attention to culture and customs. The people of the region, observing humanitarian principles, neutrality, impartiality, paying special attention to sensitive groups, including the elderly, as general principles, play an important role in psychosocial support for victims of emergency disasters.Conclusion: To deal with future disasters, it is recommended to create a national follow-up system for the elderly as a vulnerable group, to designate separate shelter areas for them, and to involve psychological specialists in all aspects of emergency preparation, providing special care. Since the role of mental health in timely response to survivors, especially the elderly, plays a significant role in the survival of the person, therefore, the preparation of mental health teams is of great importance. The proper training of counselors who provide mental health services in disasters should be the attention of officials in the preparation phase before the disaster.

Keywords:

psychosocial support , elderly , disasters , emergencies.