Intended for those involved in studying the mental health consequences of large-scale traumatic events or in measuring the effectiveness of postdisaster interventions.
This authoritative book will be of interest to anyone involved in studying the mental health consequences of large-scale traumatic events or in measuring the effectiveness of postdisaster interventions. The book considers disasters from different perspectives and translates their chaotic aftermath into feasible research ideas and approaches. Contributing authors, all experienced researchers and practitioners, present a wide range of methods and strategies used in epidemiology, program evaluation, and public mental health planning in the aftermath of natural or technological disasters and terrorism. Descriptions of exemplary studies bring to life the associated logistical and scientific challenges and show how these challenges can be addressed using high-quality research designs.
The editors have done a marvelous job of creating an instructive and well-written book that is a 'must read' for all who conduct disaster-related mental health research or who are involved in recovery planning and public health practice. For students, professionals, researchers, and policymakers, the book provides a solid foundation in research methods and includes wonderful explanations. I wholeheartedly recommend this book as a standard text for disaster research. It supplies the framework for good data collection, and good data are what support sound policy decisions.--CDR Dori B. Reissman, MD, MPH, U.S. Public Health Service and Centers for Disease Control and PreventionThis is an exceptional volume that is sure to become a classic, oft-referenced text in the field. Its great strength is the integration of ideas and methods, which too often are addressed in an either/or fashion. The book interweaves trauma and disaster theory, ethics, treatment, and policy, within the context of methodological approaches. It is masterfully done.--Stevan E. Hobfoll, PhD, Kent State University and Summa Health SystemThis unique and much-needed volume brings together concise, focused chapters by the world’s leading experts, covering all the major aspects of researching mental health after disasters. The editors have succeeded in summarizing years of accumulated wisdom and experience in a readable and easily accessible form. Disaster mental health research is complex and challenging. My recommendation is that nobody should attempt it without first reading this book.--Chris R. Brewin, PhD, University College London, UK-A unique contribution to the disaster mental health literature....This book should be read by mental health professionals who seek clearly written, timely, and authoritative presentations on disaster research methodology.--Psychiatric Services, 8/5/2006ffThe publication of this book, Methods for Disaster Mental Health Research, is a seminal event in the history of disaster mental health research. It answers the growing awareness of a need for agreed-upon scientific values and articulation of methodologies within the disaster mental health research community, oriented toward the creation of information that can guide the development of programs and policy. It is an immensely practical and readable volume, well organized and thought through. It is carefully designed to be user-friendly for those entering into disaster research for the first time, from the exhaustive review of different definitions of disaster in the first chapter to the appendices at the end of the book, providing a brief description of each disaster mentioned in the book....This is a wonderful, ambitious book...covers a multitude of intimidating material in a simple, organized fashion. It will serve not only those wishing to conduct disaster mental health research but also those who need to be able to use the results of the research to formulate policy.--PsycCRITIQUES, 8/5/2006ffThis encyclopedic but easy to read volume offers a valuable and much needed resource to investigators attempting to meet the challenge of disaster research. It reviews key concepts in the field, and presents a framework for formulating research questions, and the most effective designs and methods for answering them, including approaches to sampling and data collection. As such it is an important move toward bringing order to a crucial area of contemporary research.--Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 8/5/2006
