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Geriatric Mental Health Disaster and Emergency Preparedness

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12<br />

Complementary <strong>and</strong><br />

Alternative Approaches<br />

LUCIA McBEE, CONCETTA M. TOMAINO, RICHARD MANDELBAUM,<br />

THERESE M. MIERSWA, AND ANDREA SHERMAN<br />

COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE (CAM)<br />

The ability to cope with disaster is mediated by internal <strong>and</strong> external resources.<br />

For many older persons, the aging process has provided abundant<br />

experience in coping with life challenges. Norris <strong>and</strong> colleagues (2002)<br />

reviewed research on disasters <strong>and</strong> concluded that when middle-aged<br />

adults were differentiated from older adults, in every American sample<br />

middle-aged adults were almost consistently more affected by disasters<br />

than older adults. While older persons may have some disadvantages due<br />

to their physical <strong>and</strong> cognitive disabilities, they often have experienced loss,<br />

pain, disruption, <strong>and</strong> disability <strong>and</strong> may have developed effective coping<br />

skills already.<br />

One example of these coping skills is the increased use of CAM by<br />

older persons for symptomatic relief of multiple chronic conditions ( Montalto,<br />

Bhargava, & Hong, 2006). In this chapter, we review a number of<br />

CAM skills designed to enhance the ability of older adults <strong>and</strong> their caregivers<br />

to respond to disaster, internally <strong>and</strong> externally. The National Center<br />

for Complementary <strong>and</strong> Alternative Medicine, or NCCAM (National<br />

Institute of <strong>Health</strong>, 2009), defines CAM as treatments that are not part<br />

of contemporary conventional medicine. Complementary interventions<br />

213

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