EVALUATING MENTAL HEALTH STRATEGIES AND PSYCHOSOCIAL PREPAREDNESS IN DISASTER RESPONSE: LESSONS FROM THE TÜRKIYE EARTHQUAKE RESCUE MISSION 2023

Abstract

Abstract: Caring for the mental health of first responders is imperative because they are also vulnerable, taking into consideration the nature of their job, the frequency, and the intensity of work-related traumatic exposure. Establishing mental health care for first responders or adapting the present curriculum would avoid potential bad consequences for their mental health. This study examines the availability of comprehensive mental health care resources in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for first responders before intervention. The focus was made to document the emotions that arose during the execution of the tasks in an earthquake rescue mission in the Republic Türkiye in February 2023. The results show that structured and comprehensive measures to protect the mental health of rescuers and volunteers are limited or inconsistently applied across organizations. The revealed findings indicate that predeploying training in order to protect mental health and prevent the harmful effects of stressful situations does not correspond to the challenges they encountered during the rescue mission. The results of the research may contribute to the development of appropriate training and preparation practices to mitigate the negative psychosocial effects on rescuers and volunteers.