Summary
The Antares Foundation and CDC organized the working conference on "Managing Stress of the Humanitarian Aid Worker: towards an Integrated Approach", following the CDC Stress and Humanitarian Aid Workers meeting November 28, 2000 in Atlanta, USA, with the purpose of raising awareness amongst decision makers, policy designers and donors, sharing information, and reaching broad recommendations and plans for follow up action.
The working conference aimed, first , to identify and address the mental health consequences arising from the work, environment, and organizations where humanitarian workers function. Next, the conference aimed to develop a set of responses and minimal standards for preventing and coping with stress of humanitarian aid workers.
The conference hosted 80 participants from humanitarian organizations, academic institutes and psychosocial specialists. Those present were requested to participate actively, with relevant lectures, working groups and the sharing of knowledge, materials and information.
Thanks to this active participation of all involved, the working conference was a success. The needs inventory of fieldworkers and organizations, developed in the working groups, presented a clear and complete picture of the constraints humanitarian workers and their organizations face.
Stressors
The conference agreed on a categorization of the following range of stressors:
- Job Specific Stressors
- Family & Separation Stressors
- Physical Environment Stressors
- Organizational Stressor
- Community/Host Country Stressors
- Existential Stress Critical Incident Stressors
Response
Response should involve preventive and supportive actions in many different areas, varying from recruitment and deployment procedures to education of managers, donors and other stakeholders. Specific recommendation made were as follows:
- Improve selection/deployment strategies and policies
- Adaptation of management culture/ training, monitoring, supervision
- Increase psychosocial support
- Other strategies could include:
- Health promotion activities for staff
- Installation of mandatory Rest &Relief policies
Constraints
Organizational constraints were discussed and need to be addressed in order to institute minimal standards and improve existing practices.
The constraints found in the working groups can be divided in three main categories:
- Resources and capacities, such as lack of staff and funding.
- Organizational culture; e.g. lack of recognition of workers' stress and the effects of it, lack of clarity in responsibilities, and lack of investment in preparation of staff.
- Operational reality such as what has been labeled as 'Fog of war' (overwhelming reality and no standardized responses), a high turnover of staff and diversity of needs.
Minimal Standards
Minimal standards that define philosophy:
policy and practices of staff care within humanitarian agencies need to be acknowledged and agreed upon.
The following recommendation for minimal standards were made by the working groups:
- A written policy has to be in place to define and recognize stress, along with a set of policies for prevention and management of stress. Written policies must include clear definition of responsibilities, mandatory restricted working hours, R&R and vacation policies, and the right to communicate with support system as part of a working contract.
- Mission orientation, exit interview and a system for referral (for psychological briefing) when needed should be put in place. Minimal standards for recruitment must include integrating operational, security and stress briefing, recruiting the right people for the situation, team matching, training for managers and ongoing evaluations of such policies.
- Furthermore, it was recommended that protocols be put in place for recognizing stress and for dealing with stress incidents and security/safety issues. Finally, a system should be put in place to make sure that minimal standards are respected.
Next Steps
To advance practices in this field, it is recommended that:
- A (virtual) network of participants be established to share lessons learned
- A working group seeks to develop the work on minimal standards and best practices
- Develop greater awareness of relevant initiatives (e.g. PIA, Sphere)
- Define a humanitarian worker 'Bill of Rights'
- Develop a research agenda
- Organization of a next working conference
In order to ensure a follow up, as requested by all participants, CDC and the Antares Foundation will take the initiative to create working groups and networks, that will address the recommendations coming out of this conference.
Participants are requested to approach CDC or Antares actively, if they want to take part in this follow up.
For further details on this conference, please contact the Antares Foundation
English Glossary [PDF 126.3 kB]
Podcasts on Stress Management for Emergency Responders