Disasters
July 2016 Volume 40, Issue 3 Pages 385–588
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/disa.2016.40.issue-3/issuetoc

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Papers
Barriers to the long-term recovery of individuals with disabilities following a disaster (pages 387–410)
Laura M. Stough, Amy N. Sharp, J. Aaron Resch, Curt Decker and Nachama Wilker
Version of Record online: 17 NOV 2015 | DOI: 10.1111/disa.12161
Abstract
This study examines how pre-existing disabling conditions influenced the recovery process of survivors of Hurricane Katrina. It focuses specifically on the barriers that hindered the recovery process in these individuals. Focus groups were convened in four Gulf Coast states with 31 individuals with disabilities who lived in or around New Orleans, Louisiana, prior to Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Qualitative data were analysed using grounded theory methodology. Five themes emerged as the most significant barriers to recovery: housing; transportation; employment; physical and mental health; and accessing recovery services. While these barriers to recovery were probably common to most survivors of the disaster, the research results suggest that disability status enhanced the challenges that participants experienced in negotiating the recovery process and in acquiring resources that accommodated their disabilities. The findings indicate that, when disaster recovery services and resources did not accommodate the needs of individuals with disabilities, recovery was hindered. Recovery efforts should include building accessible infrastructure and services that will allow for participation by all.

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Disaster preparedness in a complex urban system: the case of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal (pages 411–431)
Samuel Carpenter and François Grünewald
Version of Record online: 17 NOV 2015 | DOI: 10.1111/

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Mental and social health in disasters: the Sphere standards and post-tsunami psychosocial interventions in Asia (pages 432–451)
Silja E.K. Henderson, Peter Elsass and Peter Berliner
Version of Record online: 17 NOV 2015 | DOI: 10.1111/disa.12159
disa.12164
Abstract
The primary objective of this paper is to examine and inform the mental health and psychosocial support standards of the 2011 edition of the Sphere Project’s Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response. This is done through a qualitative analysis of internal evaluation documents, reflecting four long-term humanitarian psychosocial programmes in different countries in post-tsunami Asia. The analysis yielded three overall conclusions. First, the Sphere standards on mental health and psychosocial support generally are highly relevant to long-term psychosocial interventions after disasters such as the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004, and their application in such settings may improve the quality of the response. Second, some of the standards in the current Sphere handbook may lack sufficient guidance to ensure the quality of humanitarian response required. Third, the long-term intervention approach poses specific challenges to programming, a problem that could be addressed by including additional guidance in the publication.

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Towards a natural disaster intervention and recovery framework (pages 494–517)
Peter M. Lawther
Version of Record online: 17 NOV 2015 | DOI: 10.1111/disa.12163