TY - JOUR T1 - The Importance of Mental Well-Being for Health Professionals During Complex Emergencies: It Is Time We Take It Seriously JF - Global Health: Science and Practice JO - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT SP - 188 LP - 196 DO - 10.9745/GHSP-D-17-00017 VL - 5 IS - 2 AU - Mary Surya AU - Dilshad Jaff AU - Barbara Stilwell AU - Johanna Schubert Y1 - 2017/06/27 UR - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/5/2/188.abstract N2 - We call on humanitarian aid organizations to integrate proven mental health strategies to protect the mental health of their workforce and improve staff capacity to provide care for vulnerable populations. Such strategies could include: Pre-deployment trainingArt therapyTeam buildingPhysical exerciseMindfulness or contemplative techniquesMind-body exercisesNarrative Exposure TherapyEye movement desensitization and reprocessing The number of people displaced from their homes or villages as a result of conflict has increased in the last 20 years.1 As a result, millions have been forced to live far from their homes and communities in refugee camps sometimes for months or years. In 2014, an estimated 60 million refugees worldwide fled war-torn and conflict areas and, of these, more than 60% were forcibly uprooted and displaced within their own countries, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).1 As a result, the demand for an emergency health care response has increased, as has the need for a qualified health care workforce, particularly nurses, physicians, and similarly trained or licensed professionals.2 Additionally, as the number of manmade and natural disasters have increased, the demand for aid has also risen, especially in settings where complex emergencies have occurred. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines complex emergencies as “combin[ing] internal conflict with large-scale displacements of people, mass famine or food shortage, and fragile or failing economic, political, and social institutions. Often, complex emergencies can be created by natural disasters.”3 With the incidence of global complex emergencies and humanitarian crises rising, local and expatriate health professionals have become increasingly exposed to stress and trauma for protracted periods. This type of stress and psychological trauma can be further defined as primary or secondary: primary stress and psychological trauma involves direct dangers or events that happen to one's self while secondary … ER -