Philippine E-Journals

Response to psychosocial issues of school children in the aftermath of the Typhoon Yolanda disaster

Cecilia Ocaban-gan

Discipline: medicine by specialism

 

Abstract:

In 2013, super typhoon Yolanda brought destruction beyond imagination in Tacloban and Leyte. The objective of this paper was to determine the prevalence of school children ages 9-12 years old that developed psychosocial issues in the aftermath of the disaster; to identify social determinants that influenced their psychosocial behaviours; and to come up with an action plan to address the psychosocial issues post disaster. Three hundred seventy one (371) school children were randomly selected from 3 public elementary and 3 public high schools in Tacloban. They were given a validated 35 items psychosocial screening tool to assess their cognitive, emotional and behavioral problems and 6 items post traumatic questionnaires using the Pediatric Symptom Checklist. Of the 371 school children included in the study, 42% experienced major distress symptoms, 65% experienced psychotic responses and 15 % experienced post traumatic stress disorders. The major psychosocial distress symptoms were noted in 34% of children who manifested with mood problems like anxiety reaction or depression, 9% of children manifested with attention problems and 6.5% of children manifested with behavioural problems like aggression or rage. Psychotic responses manifested as nervousness, getting upset without obvious reasons and thinking a lot about what happened during the Yolanda disaster. Post traumatic stress manifestations were nightmares, crazy thoughts and fear of certain situations, particular place and animals. Female children with higher academic performance showed higher psychosocial responses in the form of mood changes and psychotic experiences as compared to male children. Other factors contributing to higher psychosocial responses were those with higher parental educational attainment, less number of sibling and children labeled to be the “middle child” in the family. Post disaster recovery plan with multi stakeholder involvement will be the focus of the action plan.