Supervisors info:
Δρ. Σ. Λόζιος, Επικ. Καθηγ. ΕΚΠΑ
Δρ. Ε. Λέκκας, Καθηγ. ΕΚΠΑ
Δρ. Ν. Βούλγαρης, Καθηγ. ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Telephone helplines have been an important part of many advanced health systems worldwide for the past five decades. Such helplines aim at preventing or restoring dangerous for individuals or social groups behaviors and situations. In addition, organizations of this kind respond to a wide range of catastrophic events, natural, manmade or complex, and include telephone support services for persons and groups influenced by disastrous incidents. Most of these services are launched in the aftermath of a critical event and they are provided temporarily, while some of them operate on a regular basis and irrespectively of any given circumstances. There is a great variety of services, located mainly in the American continent, depending on the extent and the severity of each extreme phenomenon, the degree of public resilience, their staff or volunteers’ training and experience, the structure of the country civil protection or health and welfare system etc.
In Greece, telephone counselling and information services are provided by a number of public and private sector organizations, which respond to calls from people differing in demographic characteristics and demands (e.g. substance addictions, suicidal ideation, school or family violence, fertility issues). However, special units providing round-the-clock online assistance to people directly or indirectly affected by large-scale calamitous events do not operate in the country. Although the staff and volunteers working in the existing institutions have invaluable skills and experience in crisis management which are utilized in emergency situations, further specialization and expertise in these matters are considered to be necessary because of the complex nature and the incalculable impact of each of the disaster types on a population.
Furthermore, the establishment of targeted services can be harmonized with the National Policy on Disaster Risk Reduction, since practices and techniques such as population preparation and psychoeducation, psychological first aid, loss and bereavement counselling etc can complement and reinforce the actions required in the various phases of a disaster management cycle. The necessity of the creation and the institutionalization of a high standard service are dictated by a number of historical, social, economic and geographical/morphological factors that form the reality in Greece, the importance of which is emphasized in this essay. In other words, this essay seeks to develop a functioning telephone helpline model for people affected by mass disasters, which is based on similar services standards applied abroad and is suggested to constitute one of the Units of the state Civil Protection Operations Centre managed by the General Secretariat for Civil Protection.
For this purpose, the general framework of a telephone helpline service is described, the required skills and educational background of professionals and volunteers are defined, some of the most common requests and questions addressed by citizens are recorded, the established ways of service and the ethics of conduct are briefly presented, while the operating conditions and the mission of some Greek telephone support lines are commented.
Additionally, the field of disasters is explored and the major disaster categories are recognized, the need for provision of specialized psychosocial support in emergency situations is underlined and documented, the specificity in the relation between counsellors and clients is analyzed under the light of the surprise and the uncertainty caused by a disaster for both sides, while the context in which such structures are developed is demarcated with reference to international examples of good practice.
Finally, a theoretical organizational framework for a Greek disaster helpline is elaborated, which is planned to become the contribution of the current essay on scientific and operational level. The designed model takes into account the national legislation, the existing crisis management institutions and the special features of the Greek society. Moreover, an organization chart of the helpline is suggested, which incorporates job analyses and the minimum accepted qualifications and personality traits of professionals and volunteers who are going to be recruited by the service. In the end, special emphasis is given on the content, the counselling principles that need to get adopted and the potential difficulties that may be faced.
The research is based on the review of relevant scientific articles, organizational websites and national laws. The theoretical nature of the research induces some inevitable restrictions in the applicability of the suggested model which are discussed in the last section of the essay.
Keywords:
Telephone Helplines, Disasters, Resilience, Greece, Civil Protection
