A028 Disabled People's experience of War Zones

1. Living in war zones:
The experiences of individuals with disabilities
Dr. Carmit-Noa Shpigelman & Prof. Marc Gelkopf
Department of Community Mental Health,
University of Haifa, Israel
Email :carmits@univ.haifa.ac.il
The study was supported by the National Insurance Institute of Israel
RI World Congress, October 26th 2016

2. Exposure to Chronic Political Violence
• Anxiety
• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Depression
• Health problems and functioning difficulties
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3. The United Nations Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Article 11: Situations of risk and humanitarian
emergencies
States Parties shall take, in accordance with their
obligations under international law, including
international humanitarian law and international
human rights law, all necessary measures to
ensure the protection and safety of persons with
disabilities in situations of risk, including
situations of armed conflict, humanitarian
emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters.
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4. Qualitative Methodology
• 3 focus groups (physical/visual/hearing
disabilities).
• 18 participants (12 women and 6 men).
• The majority (94%) had a congenital disability.
• All the participants lived in the community
(alone, with a spouse and/or children or with
their nuclear family).
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6. 1. External stressors
1.1 Inaccessible physical environments
• "I always think to myself if I hear the rocket alarm at
night, will I get into the shelter in time or not? I
can't just stand up [a wheelchair user] and race for a
shelter.“
• "The protective chemical mask that we had to wear
[during the First Gulf War] is not accessible for
users of vision or hearing aids such as glasses or a
hearing aid."
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7. 1. External stressors
1.2 Lack of information
• "I was tense and worried about whether I would
hear the rocket alarm or not because the beeper
did not work well."
• “The subtitles in the news are incomplete; the
titles only summarize what happened. They
don't transcribe every word."
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8. 1. External stressors
1.3 Caring for others
• "This situation is very stressful since you have to
take care of two - yourself and your dog."
• “I felt tense since I had to take care of my kids.”
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9. 2. Responses to stressors
2.1 Emotional responses
• “As soon as the rockets came close to my
apartment building, I was anxious and felt
helpless.“
• "The first rocket fell very close to our apartment
building. I became agitated. I felt as though I
didn't have the mental strength [to cope]."
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10. 2. Responses to stressors
2.2 Behavioral responses
• "I don't go out alone. I prefer to join my brother,
who can hear and warn me.“
• "During the war, I went to bed wearing my
hearing aid and the implant. I didn't remove it at
night. Although it was uncomfortable, I could
not let myself be completely deaf even for a
moment."
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11. 2. Responses to stressors
2.2 Behavioral responses
• "My mom was very tense and it had an impact on me.
She called me many times while I was studying at the
university and she kept asking when I was coming back.“
• "Every time I heard an ambulance siren, I was very
tense; it sounded like a rocket alarm.“
• “I could not hear [the rocket alarm] so I sat in the living
room and continued to do a crossword puzzle. I
remember that I wanted to deny the fact that there was a
war."
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12. 2. Responses to stressors
2.2 Behavioral responses
• "During the war, I hung on to my routine. I didn't go
to the grocery, postponed shopping, and other
chores.“
• "I didn't leave the house as there was no-one to ask
for help."
• "When the rockets started to fall very close to my
home, I asked the disability organization to help me
find a safer place.“
• "First, I looked at what I could do for others, if there
were any casualties."
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13. 3. Future recommendations
3.1.1 Organizational level
• "We need adapted chemical masks; a mask that will
not press the implant.”
• "One authority should integrate all services for
people with disabilities."
• "Service providers should learn about people with
disabilities, their needs, and how to adequately
communication with them.”
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14. 3. Future recommendations
3.1.2 Personal level
• "You should look for accessible shelters in
advance.”
• "We have to practice what to do through
simulations.”
• "We don't know and don't assert our rights. We
must get this information."
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15. Conclusion
Rehabilitation practices should learn how to
accommodate services to meet the needs of
individuals with disabilities in a way that should
protect their safety and ensure their well-being
and quality of life.
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16. Thank You for your Attention!
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Carmit-Noa Shpigelman & Marc Gelkopf (2016): The experiences and
needs of individuals with disabilities exposed to chronic political violence,
Disability and Rehabilitation, DOI: 10.3109/09638288.2016.1138557