Fostering Adaptation, Recovery and Resilience: The Importance of Integrated, Community-Based Approaches for Post-Revolution Egypt

Buckner, Britton S.

Monday, 22 July 2013: 2:10 PM

Britton S. Buckner, BA, MTS
CRS/Egypt, Catholic Relief Services, Garden City, Cairo, Egypt
Ellen B. Buckner, DSN, RN, CNE
College of Nursing, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to discuss the effects of an integrated community-based intervention on reducing psychosocial uncertainty following the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to apply the Roy Adaptation Model stabilizer and innovator processes of group adaptation to the outcomes promoting community rebuilding.

The Egyptian revolution of January 2011 sent shock waves throughout the region, plunging the country into instability. In the turmoil that followed, Catholic Relief Services designed an integrated intervention to help families weather the transition period with dignity focusing on rebuilding financial, personal, social, human, and physical assets. The objective of this program was also to alleviate the psychological burden caused by severe economic deterioration due to the revolution. The intervention was a comprehensive, community-based approach that supported recovery, serving as a model for other post-disaster communities. Specific interventions targeted the need for psychosocial support through group therapy and family coaching. The intervention provided support to 15,000 individuals in 20 hardest-hit areas of Cairo and Alexandria. This presentation discusses the outcomes within the Roy Adaptation Model framework, with specific application to the stabilizer and innovator mechanisms of adaptation.

The Roy Adaptation Model of nursing provides a framework for group adaptation, although very little has been described in the literature (Dixon, 1999; Roy, 2009; Roy, 2011; Zeigler, Smith, & Fawcett, 2004). In focus group discussions beneficiaries noted the importance of psychosocial support on reducing fear and coping with uncertainty within their community giving evidence for stabilizer processes supporting adaptation. Communities also participated in identifying group needs and generating priorities, facilitating adaptation through innovator processes.

Populations affected by instability have diverse needs and practitioners must not underestimate the need for psychosocial interventions. Feelings of helplessness from traditional wage earners and tensions from new earners emerging (such as women or youth) strain family and community relationships. Group therapy and coaching help families deal with all assets of their lives while building community to support future growth. By addressing needs from an integrated, adaptive model, practitioners can provide for a more effective recovery, encourage group stabilization, community innovation, and improve resilience for the future.

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