2011 Articles

Emerging Concerns for International Social Work and Disaster Response: From Relief to Development and Sustainability

Taubman, Ashley; Weisz, Alexandra

When studying natural disasters, it is necessary to analyze the circumstances with a comprehensive approach that focuses on relief and moving the affected area from development to sustainability. Thus, it is imperative to consider all social, environmental, and psychological factors when addressing the complex needs of disaster response from a social work perspective. To establish immediate and long-term support networks, it is also necessary to bring together interdisciplinary teams to assist in disaster relief efforts. In the past decade, a number of devastating natural disasters have managed to cause death, destruction, and disease within the populations of a vast number of countries. This paper examines global disaster relief efforts for three major natural disasters of the past decade through a review of the literature and from observations made in the field.