Afet yönetiminde ikincil travmatik stresin SAR Arama Kurtarma Gönüllüleri üzerindeki etkisi
The effect of secondary traumatic stress on SAR Search and Rescue Volunteers in disaster management
Yazar: ŞEYMANUR ERDEMİR
Danışman: DR. ÖĞR. ÜYESİ CEYHAN KAHYA
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü / Acil Durum ve Afet Yönetimi Ana Bilim Dalı / Afet Yönetimi Bilim Dalı
Derece: Yüksek Lisans, 2024
Konu: Psikoloji = Psychology

Özet:
Ülkemizde 2000 yılından günümüze son 23 yılda 201 adet doğa ve insan kaynaklı afet meydana gelmiş; sonucunda ise 10.713.555 kişi etkilenirken toplamda 54.492 kişi hayatını kaybetmiştir. Değişen iklim koşulları göz önüne alındığında ise bu sayılarda artış görülmesi kaçınılmaz hale gelmektedir. Bu hususta afetlerin önlenmesi ve zararların azaltılması amacıyla devlet yönetimlerinin izlediği politika ve stratejiler kadar bireylerin aldığı önlemler de afetlerin muhtemel sonuçlarına önemli derecede etki etmektedir. Doğru stratejilerin belirlenmesi ve toplumun afet yönetimine katılarak devlet-toplum iş birliğinin sağlanması için bireylerin afetler konusundaki algıları incelenmeli ve tedbirler buna yönelik geliştirilmelidir. Bu amaçla afet müdahalelerinde görev alan arama kurtarma ekiplerinden başlayarak bu ekiplerdeki bireylerin psikolojik durumlarını, afet sonrası afete hazırlık konusundaki inançlarını ve davranışlarını anlamaya yönelik bir çalışma yapılması amaçlanmıştır.
Çalışma örneklemi AFAD tarafından akredite edilen ve ilgili eğitimlere tabi tutulan SAR (Search and Rescue) Derneği gönüllülerinden oluşmaktadır. Araştırma kapsamında katılımcıların tamamı sosyo-demografik özelliklerin öğrenilmesi amacıyla Kişisel Bilgi Formu'na; afet hazırlık davranışları ve bu davranışların afetler sırasındaki ihtiyaçlara olumlu yanıt vereceğine dair inançların ölçülmesi amacıyla Afetlere Hazırlık Anketi ve Afet Hazırlık İnancı Ölçeği'ne; afet müdahale çalışmalarına gönüllü olarak katılım sağlayanlar ise ek olarak İkincil Travmatik Stres Ölçeği'ne yanıt vermişlerdir. 
Katılımcıların yanıtları değerlendirildiğinde ikincil travmatik stres faktörü ile afetlere hazırlık inançları arasında güçlü düzeyde pozitif bir ilişki bulunurken afet hazırlık davranışları ile arasında negatif bir ilişki gözlemlenmiştir.  Diğer taraftan elde edilen bulgulara göre 18-30 yaş grubunu kapsayan katılımcıların ikincil travmatik stres düzeyinin 30 yaş üstü katılımcılara göre daha fazla olduğu anlaşılırken; hazırlık eylemlerinin ölçüldüğü Afet Hazırlık Anketi'ne göre 30 yaş ve üzeri katılımcıların afetlere karşı daha hazır olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. Cinsiyet faktörü incelendiğinde ise kadın olmanın ikincil travmatik stres için bir risk grubu oluşturduğu gözlemlenmiştir. Katılımcıların afetlere hazır olma ve inanç durumları diğer sosyo-demografik özellikler bakımından kıyaslandığında ise; medeni hal, çocuk sahibi olma, meslek grubu, eğitim düzeyi ve sosyo-kültürel düzeyin herhangi bir etkisi olmadığı bulgulanmıştır.
Afetlere karşı dirençli bir ülke oluşturmak, toplum ile birlikte hareket etmekle mümkündür. Bu doğrultuda bireylerin afet algısını etkileyecek olumsuz psikolojik etkenleri azaltmak adına proaktif davranılmalı ve özellikle afet sahasında çalışan meslek elemanlarına yönelik psikolojik dayanıklılık kazandırılmak üzere afet öncesinde çalışmalar yapılmalı; yapılan çalışmalar ise her yaş grubu için afet bilinci eğitimleri ve tatbikatlar ile desteklenmelidir.

Abstract:
In the last 23 years since 2000, 201 natural and man-made disasters have occurred in our country; as a result, 10.713.555 people have been affected and 54.492 people have lost their lives in total. Considering the changing climate conditions, an increase in these numbers becomes inevitable. In this respect, the measures taken by individuals as well as the policies and strategies followed by the state administrations in order to prevent disasters and minimise the damages have a significant impact on the possible consequences of disasters. 
Since disasters threaten the existence of people, especially the environment, their families, their immediate surroundings and all other living things, and interrupt their ongoing daily lives, the losses caused by each disaster, together with the social and environmental elements it threatens, cause individuals to experience trauma. It has been revealed in many studies that the experience of trauma elicits different responses in different layers of societies experiencing disasters. While one of the reactions given by people who are victims of trauma is post-traumatic stress disorder, conditions such as secondary traumatic stress/compassion fatigue have been observed in professional groups that provide primary service to the societies that experienced the trauma, that is, the disaster in question (such as health personnel, fire personnel, search and rescue teams). Experiencing situations such as re-experiencing, social isolation, feeling of helplessness as a result of the secondary trauma experienced by these professional groups, changes in perception and behaviour towards disasters, and occupational functional disorders have a critical importance for the disaster management process.
For this reason, the perceptions of individuals about disasters should be analysed and measures should be developed accordingly in order to determine the right strategies and to ensure state-society cooperation by involving the society in disaster management. In line with this purpose, it was aimed to conduct a study to understand the psychological states of the individuals in these teams, their beliefs and behaviours about post-disaster disaster preparedness, starting from search and rescue teams taking part in disaster interventions. 
The study sample consists of SAR (Search and Rescue) Association volunteers accredited by AFAD and subjected to relevant trainings. SAR Association is a voluntary search and rescue association accredited by AFAD and subjected to relevant trainings. A total of 113 volunteers participated in the study; 7 people who did not give appropriate answers to the questionnaires were excluded from the analysis. 
Within the scope of the study, all of the participants responded to the Personal Information Form in order to learn socio-demographic characteristics; Disaster Preparedness Questionnaire and Disaster Preparedness Belief Scale in order to measure disaster preparedness behaviours and beliefs that these behaviours will respond positively to the needs during disasters; and those who voluntarily participated in disaster response activities additionally responded to the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale. 
In the personal information form, information on age, gender, place of birth, place of residence for the longest period of time, marital status, having children and number of children, educational status, socio-cultural level, occupation and duration of professional experience, being involved in an aid organisation due to their occupation, being involved in any disaster, and types of disasters in which they were involved were obtained from the participants. In the disaster preparedness questionnaire, information on basic prevention and mitigation behaviours for disasters (such as having and using fire extinguishers, having disaster insurance, identifying areas for food, water and temporary shelter after a disaster) were obtained from the participants. In addition, the participants were asked to evaluate their individual preparedness against disasters between 1 and 10 points. This scoring was used to establish a relationship between individuals' "disaster preparedness behaviours" and their "feeling of readiness for disasters". Afterwards, the participants' answering the disaster preparedness belief scale in order to observe their disaster preparedness perceptions and the changes in these perceptions provided information about their beliefs that their preparedness behaviours would respond to their needs during and after the disaster. Finally, through the secondary traumatic stress scale, which was answered only by the participants who took part in the disasters, information was obtained about the psychological responses of the participants to the trauma they experienced after the disaster.
As a research method, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to determine the construct validity of the disaster preparedness belief scale and the results showed that the findings among the items were sufficient for EFA. The reliability and internal consistency coefficient of the Disaster Preparedness Belief Scale were calculated and the internal consistency coefficient and item total correlations of the scale were found to be appropriate for reliability. Skewness and Kurtosis values were used for normal distribution analysis of variables. The relationship between the three questionnaires used was analysed using Pearson Correlation Analysis due to the normal distribution. In cases where the sample size was insufficient, nonparametric tests were preferred. Mann Whitney U test was applied when the number of groups was less than two and Kruskal Wallis H test was applied when the number of groups was more than two.
When the responses of the participants were evaluated, a strong positive relationship was found between the secondary traumatic stress factor and disaster preparedness beliefs, while a negative relationship was observed between it and disaster preparedness behaviours.  On the other hand, according to the findings obtained, it was understood that the level of secondary traumatic stress of the participants in the 18-30 age group was higher than the participants over the age of 30, while according to the Disaster Preparedness Questionnaire in which preparedness actions were measured, it was revealed that the participants aged 30 and over were more prepared for disasters. When the gender factor was analysed, it was observed that being female constituted a risk group for secondary traumatic stress. 
When the participants' disaster preparedness and beliefs were compared in terms of other socio-demographic characteristics, it was found that marital status, having children, occupational group, educational level and socio-cultural level did not have any effect. 
As a result, the findings show that the disaster preparations of search and rescue volunteers show a contrast beyond what they think and even if they think that these preparations will give them a positive response during a disaster, they do not reflect it to their preparation actions. This situation is a mirror of both the volunteer individuals trained on disasters and the society, such that it reflects that if it is aimed to create a resilient society against disasters, this goal should start from creating a disaster perception/culture. Thanks to this culture gained to the society, being ready for disasters will be transformed from a belief and impulse in the mind to an action.
The behavioural changes caused by disaster-induced traumas of volunteer individuals against disasters are in the direction that disaster preparedness beliefs and secondary traumatic stress levels are parallel. However, it has been observed that taking action on preparedness reduces this stress level. The key point here is to transform the belief in the mind into a concrete activity. If the volunteer individual only has the belief that it is necessary to be prepared for disasters, the belief that is not transferred to action feeds secondary traumatic stress.
Sociodemographic characteristics were determinant on belief, preparedness and secondary traumatic stress levels only in terms of gender and age groups. The factor of being a woman was positively correlated with both preparedness belief and secondary traumatic stress level. Accordingly, the fact that women have higher levels of secondary traumatic stress than men indicates that secondary traumatic stress is not a trigger for taking action. When age groups were analysed, it was seen that being young was a risk factor for secondary traumatic stress. On the other hand, while the disaster preparedness belief of the young age group was higher, it was observed that the middle age and above group was more prepared for disasters in terms of action. Here, when the phenomenon of less traumatic stress and being more prepared is evaluated, the importance of life experience has also emerged.
Creating a country resilient against disasters is only possible by acting together with the society. This research has provided findings that having psychological resilience will contribute to the increase in community disaster resilience. In this direction, proactive actions should be taken in order to reduce the negative psychological factors that will affect the disaster perception of individuals and pre-disaster studies should be carried out in order to gain psychological resilience especially for the professional staff working in the disaster area; the studies should be supported by disaster awareness trainings and drills for all age groups.
In this direction, targets for the society and specialised segments are as follows providing psychosocial support services to disaster workers, especially search and rescue workers, before and after the disaster; normalising the application for psychosocial support within the society; dividing and prioritising individuals into risk groups according to their psychological resilience within the disaster workers; giving the young age groups, which are among the risk groups, more chances to take part in volunteering activities in order to gain vital experiences; creating simple and comprehensible road maps for the society and related professional groups instead of stereotyped, high-cost preparation activities for individual preparations and supporting them with practical trainings; supporting disaster preparedness actions with policies and creating a perception of "state-society" cooperation and an environment of trust in the society.