Experience of Bangladeshi occupational therapists with “Rana Plaza Tragedy” survivors: recovery and rehabilitation phases of disaster management

Abstract

On 24th April, 2013, the people of Bangladesh experienced one of the world’s most horrific industrial disasters involving the collapse of a nine-story building in Savar, known as the “Rana Plaza Tragedy”. One thousand one hundred and twenty five people (1125) died and over 2000 were injured, many of whom were admitted to The Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed (CRP) for rehabilitation. Occupational therapists (OTs) were engaged in the rehabilitation of people affected by the tragedy from the initial response through to their discharge and community reintegration. This study has discovered that the majority of persons affected suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the challenges of reintegrating back into the workforce. OTs provided assessments to establish patient’s functional ability and investigated opportunities for reintegrating into local communities. To help them to recover from PTSD, OTs provided both physical intervention and psychological rehabilitation by engaging patients in a variety of purposeful and meaningful activities such as; self-care, leisure and vocational training and activities.