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When assessing the quantity of help someone needs, people’s perceptions might be skewed by their racial biases, in accordance with a Kansas State University study.

Donald Saucier, K-State associate professor of psychology, and psychology graduate students Sara Smith, Topeka, and Jessica McManus, Maineville, Ohio, surveyed undergraduate students a year following Hurricane Katrina to examine their perceptions of the hurricane victims and also the helping response.

The researchers produced a questionnaire that evaluated the participants’ perceptions of Hurricane Katrina victims. The questionnaire evaluated whom the participants perceived to be the victims based on measures like gender, race and socioeconomic status. The outcomes showed that participants typically thought people impacted by Hurricane Katrina had been black and lower class.

“What we wanted to do was see how perceptions of victims of Hurricane Katrina would interact with items like racism,” Saucier stated. “We wanted to look at just how much the participants felt that the victims could have been to blame for their own circumstance in Katrina.”

The researchers measured differences in the participants, such as their levels of conservatism, empathy and racism. The findings showed that when recalling victims of Hurricane Katrina, participants who were less racist thought the victims did not get adequate assist from the government. Participants who had been more racist thought the victims received adequate government assistance and had been at fault for their situation. The survey also asked concerns that measured regardless of whether the participants thought the victims had enough time to evacuate and no matter whether they had adequate resources to get out before the hurricane hit.

“We asked the participants to make personality attributions about people, such as whether they believed the victims had been lazy, stupid, sinful or unlucky,” Saucier said. “If they said they were lazy, stupid or sinful, they were putting more blame on the victims for the scenario. If they stated they were unlucky, they took away the blame.”

The outcomes recommend that perceptions with the victims and the Hurricane Katrina situation depended on the participants’ individual differences, including their levels of racism. Negative perceptions and placing blame on the victims had been generally linked using the participants’ perceptions that the circumstance was much less of an emergency and that the victims needed less aid.

Saucier stated despite the fact that the findings can’t fix what happened to the victims, the study assists show how folks interpret the situation. He stated when one thing negative occurs, individuals typically evaluate the circumstance and see no matter whether they can fix it, and occasionally they steer clear of the scenario by blaming the victim.

The researchers study the effects of group membership, and groups could be categorized in numerous techniques, which includes by gender, race and socioeconomic status. Studies show you’ll find specific elements that cause an individual to assist a member of their own group far more than other people. In helping circumstances, discrimination is usually expressed by not giving aid to those of a various group than the helper, Saucier stated.

“Rather than doing some thing poor, the person who chooses not to assist the out-group member fails to do one thing great,” Saucier said. “I feel this illustrates the complexity of how prejudice is expressed in contemporary society regardless of the social norms that generally serve to suppress the expression of prejudice.”

Saucier said discrimination is often expressed only when other aspects are present that would justify the action and rationalize it as some thing apart from an expression of prejudice. Variables that contribute to the justification of not helping someone include the time it would take to help; the risk, effort, difficulty and financial expense involved; the distance among the prospective helper and the individual needing support; the level of emergency as well as the ambiguity of the helping scenario.

The researchers stated the Hurricane Katrina scenario had several elements that studies show trigger acts of discrimination, including a high cost of help, a high level of emergency plus a big quantity of time and effort required to assist. The researchers are exploring other helping circumstances and how other group memberships have an effect on the helping response.

“We need to examine how the perception of somebody that you are going to be helping is going to have an effect on your perception of how much aid they require and how much aid you will desire to give,” Saucier stated.

Though it is unlikely that researchers can fix the beliefs and attitudes that result in discrimination, studies are being carried out to try to change the behavior which is expressed when related to discrimination, Saucier stated.

The researchers’ findings on Hurricane Katrina victims are included in a chapter about discrimination against out-group members in helping scenarios in “The Psychology of Prosocial Behavior: Group processes, intergroup relations and helping,” published in September 2009.

Source: Donald Saucier
Kansas State University

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The Globe Health Organization (WHO) announced that the severe earthquake that hit Haiti and parts of the Dominican Republic on January 12th has resulted in large-scale harm, such as the total destruction of a number of hospitals and wellness facilities, along with a huge number of casualties.

The earthquake that struck Haiti was a 7 magnitude 1 – any earthquake in between 7 and 7.9 is classed as a Major earthquake (8 or more is Fantastic, 7 to 7.9 is Main, 6 to 6.9 is Powerful, 5 to five.9 is Moderate, four to four.9 is Light, and three to 3.9 is Minor).

WHO says the instant health priorities in Haiti are:Search and rescue of survivors trapped underneath rubbleTreatment of folks with significant trauma injuriesPreventing the infection of woundsProvision of clean water and sanitationEnsuring breast-feeding is continuedControl of communicable diseases, for example diarrhoeal illnesses and respiratory infections, is going to be another key concern in coming days.

WHO is operating with local authorities, United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners to respond towards the emergency. Much more specifically, Who’s supporting the Haitian government to ideal coordinate international health assistance towards the country. Who’s also collecting data on the wellness impact with the earthquake to disseminate to other humanitarian aid providers.

In addition, Who is deploying a 12-member team of wellness and logistics specialists. The WHO specialists being sent include specialists in mass casualty management, coordination of emergency wellness response along with the management of dead bodies.

UN buildings, including the WHO premises, have suffered harm within the magnitude 7.0 earthquake, which struck on 12 January. The main force of the earthquake was felt 17 kilometres south-west with the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.

Haiti is actually a country that has already suffered from years of humanitarian crisis and natural disasters, including a series of hurricanes that battered the country in 2008.

Source: Globe Health Organization (WHO)

Edited by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
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An initial $200,000 has been pledged by the American Red Cross to help communities affected by the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12th. The American Red Cross says it’s prepared to take further action as neighborhood responders inform about the situation.

“Initial reports indicate widespread damage in Port au Prince, with continuing aftershocks,” says Tracy Reines, director of international disaster response for the American Red Cross. “As with most earthquakes, we anticipate to see immediate requirements for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support.”

The American Red Cross has made available all the relief supplies from its warehouse in Panama which would provide for simple desires for roughly 5,000 families. Furthermore, it really is deploying a disaster management specialist to Haiti, and has further disaster specialists on standby if required.

The American Red Cross has an extensive partnership using the Haitian Red Cross, which is expected to lead the Red Cross response to the earthquake.

The American Red Cross has staff on the ground in Haiti who provide ongoing HIV/AIDS prevention and disaster preparedness programs. At this time, all the three American Red Cross staff in Haiti have all been reported safe.

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The Haitian Red Cross was founded in 1932 and is among the main organizations within the country responding to disasters. Although earthquakes are less common, Haiti is often impacted by hurricanes which includes those in 2008, and the Haiti Red Cross has created encounter in disaster response due those disasters.

The American Red Cross says it’s not accepting volunteers to travel to Haiti. People who would like to volunteer for the American Red Cross ought to get in touch with their local chapter.

For inquiries about relatives living and who have citizenship in Haiti, please be patient and call repeatedly until the lines clear or get in touch with other household members who live nearby. Telephone, Web as well as other communication lines are often disrupted in times of disaster. Individuals attempting to locate U.S. citizens living or traveling in Haiti should get in touch with the U.S. Department of State, Workplace of Overseas Citizens Services, at 1-888-407-4747 or 202-647-5225.

Source: American Red Cross
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Josette Sheeran, Executive Director World Food Program (WFP), says the organization is deeply saddened by the loss of life and destruction in Haiti. She added that WFP is mobilizing all accessible resources to provide urgently required food help as component of a rapid and coordinated recovery effort.

“Our thoughts are with families who have lost loved ones and those whose, lives have been shattered,” Sheeran said.

WFP is already deploying resources in Haiti to help those affected by this disaster. WFP is right away airlifting an additional 86 metric tons of food from its emergency hub in El Salvador, which will offer a lot more than half a million emergency meals.

In the initial stages of this crisis, WFP will likely be providing important quantities of prepared to eat food that will be consumed immediately by people who have no access to cooking facilities. High power biscuits will also be distributed to those that have lost their properties and can no longer feed themselves.

WFP says it will function with the Haitian government, with its humanitarian partners onthe ground, and with governments across the globe, as component of a coordinatedinternational rescue and recovery effort.

Source: Globe Food Program

Edited by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
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Initial reports inform from Doctors Without havingindividuals – new clinics have been set up in tents to replace the ones that had been damaged by the earthquake which struck on January 12th.

The Martissant Wellness Center had to be evacuated following the quake rendered it damaged and unstable. The health center is in a poor portion with the capital, Port-au-Prince. The patients are now in tents within the grounds along with the medical staff have been coping with a flow of casualties from the town. They’ve already treated in between 300 and 350 men and women, mainly for trauma injuries and fractures. Amongst them are 50 men and women suffering from burns – some of them severe – several of them brought on by domestic gas containers exploding in collapsing buidings.

At the Pachot rehabilitation center one more 300 to 400 individuals have been treated. In one of MSF’s adminstrative offices in Petionville, another portion of Port-au-Prince, a tent clinic there has observed a minimum of 200 injured folks. Much more are acquiring assistance at what was the Solidarite maternity hospital, which was seriously damaged.

One of MSF’s senior staff, Stefano Zannini, was out for most with the night, attempting to assess the needs inside the city and searching at the state of the medical facilities.

“The scenario is chaotic,” he stated. “I visited five medical centers, such as a main hospital, and most of them were not functioning. Many are damaged and I saw a distressing number of dead bodies. Some parts of the city are without electricity and individuals have gathered outside, lighting fires inside the street and trying to help and comfort each other. When they saw that I was from MSF they were asking for support, especially to treat their wounded. There was powerful solidarity among people inside the streets.”

Another MSF coordinator there, Hans van Dillen, confirmed that Port-au-Prince was quite unable to cope using the scale of the disaster.

“There are hunderds of thousands of people who are sleeping within the streets due to the fact they are homeless,” stated van Dillen. “We see open fractures, head injuries. The problem is that we can not forward folks to correct surgery at this stage.”

So several of the city’s medical facilities have been damaged, healthcare is severely disrupted at precisely the moment when medical desires are high.

MSF is also operating to obtain far more staff into the country. About 70 far more staff are expected to arrive within the coming days. MSF is sending out a 100-bed hospital with an inflatable surgical unit, consisting of two operating theaters and seven hospitalization tents. Nephrologists will probably be sent as part with the team to be able to cope with the affects of crush injuries. Nevertheless, transport links are hard and it isn’t yet clear whether or not supplies and medical staff will have to go in through neighboring Dominican Republic.

MSF is also concerned about the safety of some of its own staff. You will find 800 of them and not all have but been accounted for as a result of the poor communications and general disruption.

Source: Doctors Withoutwith no permission of Medical News These days

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Despite heavy harm to its own offices in Port-au-Prince UNICEF is ready to offer immediate support towards the victims with the unfolding humanitarian crisis following the earthquake that hit Haiti today.

In coordination with all other UN agencies present on the ground, UNICEF will provide supplies to allow access to sufficient sanitation, secure water and fundamental well being care.

UNICEF is also preparing materials and staff to ensure that young children, tremendously vulnerable in the course of natural catastrophes, are protected. UNICEF materials and advisors will help so that young children are able to continue studying and studying, and be supplied secure recreation locations even though their caretakers turn to rebuilding their lives.

The situation of children and ladies in Haiti was already 1 of wonderful vulnerability prior to the earthquake hit the island. Haiti is among the poorest countries on earth – it ranks 148 out of 179 countries on UNDP’s Human Development Index, and is struggling to recover from years of violence, insecurity and instability and has a long history of getting struck by 1 natural disaster soon after an additional.

Haiti’s income distribution is highly skewed, with only 1 in every single 50 Haitians holding a steady, wage-earning job. Access to services is highly unequal: the poorer the child is the less likely he or she would be to have access to standard rights. Far too many Haitian kids and females are engaged in a struggle for their appropriate to simple necessities like sufficient nutrition, clean water, education and protection from violence.

Haiti also has the second-highest population density within the western hemisphere. Four out of every ten children live in properties with mud floors or in severely overcrowded conditions, with a lot more than 5 individuals living in each room. With an estimated 46 per cent with the population currently below the age of 18, the struggle of Haitian kids reverberates all through society, and one that is bound to have critical consequences far into the future.

The effects of this most recent natural catastrophe following a severe Hurricane season in 2008 from which the country is still struggling to recover are set to be devastating.

With so many folks living at such close quarters – and with access to clean water and sanitary conditions severely compromised even in the greatest of times – vulnerability to the spread of life-threatening waterborne illnesses can skyrocket when a natural disaster strikes, as can difficulties in delivering a lot needed food, medical supplies and protection services. Children, as is too typically the case, are most most likely to suffer the consequences.

Source
UNICEF

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“We are saddened to understand with the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Although relief efforts have begun, communications are extremely tough and accurate info is still scarce, it is clear that the consequences are severe and many young children are among the victims. Our hearts go out to the households whose lives have been so terribly impacted by this tragedy.

“Early news reports indicate that schools have collapsed, houses destroyed, and hospitals overwhelmed by the huge numbers of injured coming in for medical help.

“UNICEF is deploying essential supplies to Jacmel and Port-au-Prince as rapidly as possible to help with recovery efforts including clean water and sanitation, therapeutic foods, medical supplies and temporary shelter. We will also be focusing on young children who’ve become separated from their households to shield them from harm or exploitation.

“Expert estimates recommend that 46 per cent of Haiti’s nearly 10 million folks are below 18 years of age. The special needs of kids for food, shelter and protection, must be factored in in the very outset of relief efforts and UNICEF will do everything in its power to make sure these requirements are met.

“We are also greatly concerned for our colleagues from the United Nations mission, MINUSTAH, a lot of of whom are still missing.

“All UNICEF staff in Port-au-Prince have been accounted for, though UNICEF premises in Port-au-Prince are badly damaged and our communications facilities have been destroyed.”

Source
UNICEF

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The American Red Cross is sending funds, supplies and staff to Haiti to support relief efforts there right after yesterday’s earthquake, which caused catastrophic damage and loss of life.

According to reports, as a lot of as three million individuals could have been affected by the quake, which collapsed government buildings and brought on main harm to hospitals inside the area.

The Red Cross is contributing an initial $1 million from the International Response Fund to support the relief operation, and has opened its warehouse in Panama to provide tarps, mosquito nets and cooking sets for roughly 5,000 households.

In addition to Red Cross staff already in Haiti, six disaster management specialists are being deployed towards the disaster zone to help coordinate relief efforts. At this time, the American Red Cross is only deploying volunteers specially trained to manage international emergency operations.

There has been an outpouring of support from the public. To help, folks can make an unrestricted donation to the International Response Fund at http://www.redcross.org or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767). The public may also help by texting “Haiti” to 90999 to send a $10 donation towards the Red Cross, by means of an effort backed by the U.S. State Department. Funds will go to support American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.

Debris and collapsed bridges are generating access to several locations very tough. Telephone service and electricity are out in many locations. Haitian Red Cross staff worked all through the night to rescue individuals nonetheless trapped in their properties and supply initial aid. The priority remains to offer food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support.

The American Red Cross already had fifteen staff in Haiti delivering ongoing HIV/AIDS prevention and disaster preparedness programs. All are reported to be secure and responding to the disaster.

To date, there have been no requests for blood goods from the government of Haiti. However, some patients at an affected facility in Haiti have been moved to a Guantanamo Bay hospital, and also the Armed Services Blood Program has asked both the Red Cross and Florida Blood Services for support for those patients. Furthermore, the American Red Cross will likely be sending a shipment of blood goods towards the United Nations Mission in Haiti.

While communication with those in Haiti is still challenging, folks must contact the U.S. Department of State, Workplace of Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747 if trying to reach a U.S. citizen living or traveling in Haiti. If trying to reach a Haitian citizen, callers really should continue to call or contact other family members members who live nearby.

While donations are coming in for Haiti relief, the initial American Red Cross response is created probable in part by contributions from members with the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP). The following partners designate a portion of their ADGP commitment to the International Response Fund: American Express, John Deere Foundation, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Morgan Stanley and State Street Foundation.

Source
American Red Cross