Browsing by Author "White B"

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    The Mental Health of Oiled Wildlife Responders Deployed to the MV Rena Oil Spill in Aotearoa, New Zealand
    (Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc, 2025-09-04) White B; Severinsen C; Yeung P
    Objective To investigate the mental health impacts and coping mechanisms faced by trained oiled wildlife responders who deployed to the 2011 MV Rena oil spill, Aotearoa, New Zealand, following the vessel’s grounding on Astrolabe reef. Methods A thematic analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews was conducted with 8 core wildlife responders based on the following questions: What challenges are faced by trained oiled wildlife responders when managing oiled wildlife, within the oil spill response work environment, and how do oiled wildlife response agencies promote and protect the mental health of responders? Results Participants demonstrated a high commitment to utilizing their expertise for wildlife rehabilitation. While they accepted euthanasia as necessary, they experienced more intense emotions to mass mortality events and accidental deaths in the wildlife facility. Responders employed informal coping mechanisms, relying heavily on social connectedness and teamwork for support but reported insufficient training in trauma management and limited formal debriefing opportunities. Many depended on previous experiences to cope with the psychological challenges encountered and relied on strong professional identity. Conclusion The findings highlight the need to integrate primary prevention mental health training into oil spill response. This should specifically focus on mental health support, stress management, and resilience development.
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    What Helps Oiled Wildlife Responders Care for Animals While Minimizing Stress and Compassion Fatigue
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2021-06-30) Yeung P; White B; Ziccardi M; Chilvers BL
    Oil spills are environmental disasters and their long-term impact is not just a concern for the environment and economy, but also for first responders’ health and wellbeing. Wildlife, such as aquatic birds and certain marine mammals, are highly susceptible to physiological effects of oiling, and oiled wildlife responders are crucial to provide measures for their survival. The purpose of this research was to explore the experiences of oiled wildlife responders and what factors and conditions have helped or inhibited the responders to care-affected wildlife. This study collected responses (n = 50) from a survey of responders who attended either the New Zealand MV Rena or US Refugio pipeline oil spills. Study participants were mostly older (>40), highly educated females. We found there were significant differences in compassion satisfaction, resilience, burnout and overall satisfaction based on age, gender and role. While most responders have only attended limited numbers of oil spill incidents, they reported positive experiences and found it rewarding. Findings from responders indicated that to lessen stress and compassion fatigue during an incident, provision of training and support from professional organizations equips responders with knowledge and skills that can support their personal resilience to respond to disaster events.