Abstract
Efforts to prevent and mitigate the effects of disasters have largely emerged from the fields of science and human geography. However, social work has long been a profession aimed at the restoration and enhancement of individual and community social functioning. This article argues for the integration of social work in disaster prevention and mitigation efforts. The primary goal of this study is to explore how members of a community experience an oil spill and to take a critical look at the potential benefits of integrating social work practice in disaster mitigation efforts with this community. The study showed that community-level social work interventions can fill the existing gaps in disaster mitigation by providing the mechanism that facilitates the practice of knowledge exchange in environmental management disaster situations. The study also suggests the need to include a social work focus on building community social capital, including training of community responders to provide support and intermediary services with disaster response coordinators. The article re-enforces the need for a more structural approach to social work practice in the mitigation and management of industrial disasters as well as in building the political capital of communities to affect policies. The authors provide few recommendations to integrate social work methods into the field of health hazard.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen KM (2006) Community-based disaster preparedness and climate adaptation: local capacity-building in the Philippines. Disasters 30(1):81–101. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9523.2006.00308
Alston M (2013) Australian social work. June 2013, vol 66(2):218–233. 16p. doi:10.1080/0312407X.2012.738366
Asad N, Karmaliani R, Somani R, Hirani S, Pasha A, Hirani S, McFarlane J (2013) Preventing abuse and trauma to internally displaced children living in camps due to disasters in Pakistan. Child Care Pract 19(3):267–274. doi:10.1080/13575279.2013.785936
Baker P (2015) Corruption, inequality & natural disaster. Jamaica gleaner [serial online]. October 31, 2010:A8. Available from: Caribbean Search, Ipswich, MA. Accessed 25 Feb 2015
Beil L (2014) Emotional wounds. Sci News 186(12):22
Bemak F, Chung RC (2011) Post-disaster social justice group work and group supervision. J Spec Group Work 36(1):3–21. doi:10.1080/01933922.2010.537737
Coates J (2005) Ecology and social work: toward a new paradigm. Fernwood Publishing, Black Point
Creswell JW (2007) Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five traditions, 2nd edn. Sage, Thousand Oaks
Dawson KS, Joscelyne A, Meijer C, Tampubolon A, Steel Z, Bryant RA (2014) Predictors of chronic posttraumatic response in Muslim children following natural disaster. Psychol Trauma Theory Res Pract Policy 6(5):580–587. doi:10.1037/a0037140
Dominelli L (2013) Environmental justice at the heart of social work practice: greening the profession. Int J Soc Welfare 22(4):431–439. doi:10.1111/ijsw.12024
Fazey L, Bunse J, Msika M, Pinke K, Preedy AC, Evely E, Lambert E, Hastings S, Morris MS (2014) Reed Evaluating knowledge exchange in interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder research Glob. Environ. Change 25:204–220
Fitzpatrick T, Cahill M (2002) Environment and welfare: towards a green social policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills
Galambos CM (2005) Natural Disasters: health and mental health considerations. Health Soc Work 30(2):83–86
Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development (2012) Commitment to Action. J Soc Work Educ 48(4):837–843
Humphreys N, Rogge M (2000) Environmental policy. National Association of Social Workers, Social Work Speaks: NASW Policy Statements, pp 101–108
Hyder AA, Corluka A, Winch PJ, El-Shinnawy A, Ghassany H, Malekafzali H, Lim MK, Mfutso-Bengo J, Segura E, Ghaffar AAAF (2011) National policy-makers speak out: are researchers giving them what they need? Health Policy Plan 26:73–82
Jacobs S, Hoffman M, Leach M, Gerstein L (2011) Counseling psychology and large-scale disasters. Couns Psychol 39(8):1203–1211
Johnson EJ (2014) A case study on the impact of natural disaster on ‘Women’. Asian J Environ Disaster Manag 6(1):1–11
Jones P (2010) Responding to the ecological crisis: transformative pathways for social work education. J Soc Work Educ 46(1):67–84
Miller SE, Hayward RA, Shaw TV (2012) Int J Soc Welf 21 448(3):270–277. 8p. 2 Charts. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2397.2011.00848.x
Mitchell JK (1996) Improving community responses to industrial disasters. In: Mitchell JK (ed) The long road to recovery. United Nations Press, New York, pp 10–35
Mullaly B (2006) The new structural social work: ideology, theory, and practice (3rd ed). Oxford University Press, Toronto, p 452
Powers MCF, Freedman DA (2013) Applying a social justice framework to photovoice research on environmental issues: a comprehensive literature review. Crit Soc Work 13(2):81–100
Reed MS, Stringer LC, Fazey I, Evely AC, Kruijsen JJ (2014) Five principles for the practice of knowledge exchange in environmental management. J Environ Manage 146:337–345
Rock LF, Corbin CA (2007) Social work students’ and practitioners’ views on the need for training Caribbean social workers in disaster management. Int Soc Work 50(3):383–394. doi:10.1177/0020872807076051
Rubin A, Babbie ER (2014) Research methods for social work 8th ed. Brooks/Cole CEngage Learning, CA, USA
Shaw T (2013) Is social work a green profession? An examination of environmental beliefs. J Soc Work 13(1):3–29
Smith LE, Bernal DR, Schwartz BS, Whitt CL, Christman ST, Donnelly S, Kobetz E (2014) Coping with vicarious trauma in the aftermath of a natural disaster. J Multicult Couns Dev 42(1):2–12
Zakour MJ, Harrell EB (2003) J Soc Serv Res 30(2):27–54. 28p. doi:10.1300/J079v30n02_03
Zaph MK (2010) Social work and the environment: understanding people and place. Critical social work, p 11
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Boodram, CA.S., Johnson, E.J. Environmental health hazards on industrial disasters: a study on how to achieve community-level social support. Nat Hazards 84, 109–120 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-016-2410-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-016-2410-1