Project List

Previous Projects

Disaster Mental Health Preparedness and Response for Pennsylvania’s County Mental Health Disaster Coordinators (MHDCs)

Principal:
Sarah Powell
Public Health

Participant:
Tamar Klaiman

Qualitative research on mental health disaster response and preparedness at the local levels is scarce, and this study aims to help fill this gap by gaining an understanding of Pennsylvania county level Mental Health Disaster Coordinators (MHDCs). One-on-one in person and telephone interviews assess levels of state and federal guidance, experiences with federal Crisis Counseling Program grants, perceived state/federal expectations, emergency planning, local communication and relationship-building, surge capacity, training needs, the development of response teams, lessons learned and ‘best practices’ from previous experiences and response efforts. The data will provide a picture of current perceptions, needs, and experiences for a better understanding of response efforts and concerns at local levels.

Funding Source:
PA Department of Health, April 2004-August 2005

Findings:

Emergency/Disaster Mental Health Preparedness and Response for Pennsylvania’s County Mental Health Disaster Coordinators (MHDCs):  Final Report