Being Both Helpers and Victims: Health Professionals’ Experiences of Working During a Natural Disaster

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundIn November 2013, the Haiyan typhoon hit parts of the Philippines. The typhoon caused severe damage to the medical facilities and many injuries and deaths. Health professionals have a crucial role in the immediate disaster response system, but knowledge of their experiences of working during and in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster is limited.AimThe aim of this study was to explore health professionals’ experiences of working during and in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster.MethodEight health professionals were interviewed five months after the disaster. The interviews were analyzed using phenomenological hermeneutic methods.ResultsThe main theme, being professional and survivor, described both positive and negative emotions and experiences from being both a helper, as part of the responding organization, and a victim, as part of the surviving but severely affected community. Sub-themes described feelings of strength and confidence, feelings of adjustment and acceptance, feelings of satisfaction, feelings of powerless and fear, feelings of guilt and shame, and feelings of loneliness.ConclusionBeing a health professional during a natural disaster was a multi-faceted, powerful, and ambiguous experience of being part of the response system at the same time as being a survivor of the disaster. Personal values and altruistic motives as well as social aspects and stress-coping strategies to reach a balance between acceptance and control were important elements of the experience. Based on these findings, implications for disaster training and response strategies are suggested.HugeliusK, AdolfssonA, ÖrtenwallP, GiffordM. Being both helpers and victims: health professionals’ experiences of working during a natural disaster. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(2):117–123.