Public Health
In "Nutrition and Disaster Preparedness: Focusing on Vulnerability, Building Capacities," Wright & Vesala-Husemann (2006) point out that the media over-emphasizes acute and sudden disasters, when chronic and "long-term" disasters can be far more devastating to human communities. Disasters that are chronic are less intense and therefore less newsworthy from a media perspective. Wright & Vesala-Husemann (2006) note that humanitarian aid is sometimes distributed poorly to communities in need because of the media bias. With regards to malnutrition, populations throughout Kenya warrant attention. The dramatic images fed to the public might garner sympathy, but bloated bellies and flies swarming infants are not the only symptoms...
Focusing overly much on the sensational images detracts from the vast majority of affected individuals.
Coping ability can be calculated via an
analysis that takes into account the following three factors: vulnerability, hazards, and coping. Vulnerability refers to susceptibility to problems; or general risk factors. For example, a family living in a corrugated tin hut is more
vulnerable to a hurricane than a family living in a concrete dwelling. An individual residing near a heavy waste-producing factory will be more vulnerable to acquiring certain types of
cancer than an individual who resides in a more pristine environment. Hazards refer to the types of problems that might arise in a specific geographic locale -- and those can include environmental issues such as storms or human issues such as
war. Coping, finally, refers to the ability to cope with disasters and usually refers to the presence of infrastructure, good governance, and economic resources. It is important to keep in mind that most disasters result of a combination of various factors and are rarely the result of a singular event.
As Wright & Vesala-Husemann (2006) point out, "factors such as prior experience, access to information, and cultural norms" all have a strong impact on an individual's or family's ability to cope…
