BSDP-578
Behavioral AND Cultural Implications of Disasters

This course will provide an overview of crisis communication challenges associated with disasters, including basic human communications and communication needs, the impact of stressors in communications, risk communications to communities and to crisis responders, command and control, publicly accepted crisis communication techniques, and the technologies related to crisis communications.

Students will learn the theoretical foundations of risk communication, how to apply those principles during a public health crisis, and how to formulate and institute appropriate communications plans for a variety of audiences and disaster response organizations.

Course Number: BSDP-578
Classification: Required
Credits Earned: 3
Term Available: Spring/Fall
Faculty: Rachel Schwartz

Course Description:
This course addresses behavioral and cultural issues related to terrorism and natural disasters, including bioterrorism and pandemics.  Through assigned readings, discussion questions, and written assignments, the student will gain an understanding of mental health problems caused by disasters and how these problems differ among risk groups.  The media plays an important role in informing people about disasters.  This role and its relationship to behavioral and cultural aspects of disasters will be discussed.  The impact of politics on the behavioral and cultural aspects of disasters will also be discussed. Students are expected to integrate the various aspects of behavior and culture of disasters into a final paper.

Competencies
•Describe the differences between the way terrorist attacks and natural disasters affect populations.
•Explain the affects of tailored and non-tailored cultural and behavioral approaches when dealing with a variety of populations.
•Understand the importance of addressing disaster response from a cultural perspective.
•Recognize the mental health problems caused by disasters and how they differ among risk groups.
•Discuss the impact of politics on behavioral and cultural aspects of disaster.

Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course a student will be able to:

•Discuss the behavioral and cultural factors related to disasters.
•Define post-traumatic stress disorder and identify how this disorder is caused by disasters.
•Describe the impact of ethnicity on the mental health response of disaster victims.
•Identify vulnerable populations that are affected by disasters.
•Recognize the psychosocial effects of relocation after a disaster.
•Delineate the differences in psychological response to a natural disaster from a hurricane, earthquake, or similar disaster compared to a disaster from an infectious disease outbreak.
•Recognize the psychological influences of the media during a disaster.
•Recognize the role politics plays during disaster response and recovery and how this can impact mental health of disaster victims.
•Review the intervention role of psychiatry and public health on the mental health of disaster victims.

Course Format:
Written assignments, threaded discussions, and readings.