Apathy factor

Despite the fact that planning is usually considered the most important step in disaster preparedness and response, it is frequently the step that receives the least attention. Auf der Heide (1989) attributes this to the apathy factor. He reports that because disasters are low-probability events, disaster preparedness tends to... 

These are difficult questions at best, yet the foundation for successful disaster recovery and the creation of disaster-resistant sustainable communities lies within them. As a nation, we must not succumb to the apathy factor as Dr. Erik Auf der Heide has described, but force ourselves to plan for the unexpected, prepare for the unlikely, and to establish sustainable community partnerships with effective avenues of communication. These discussions will most likely take place at the highest levels of our government—and no one is better prepared to contribute to this discussion than a nurse. 

While chronic adult users can display apathy and impaired concentration, these effects are possibly in part associated with other factors. No permanent organic brain damage has been demonstrated (141,142). 

The second great cause of American apathy is a result of the fact that if we as American citizens take the threat seriously and, in fact, act upon it— specifically if the people build public and private bomb shelters, provide themselves with dose rate meters and dosimeters, take preventive action against CEBAR weapons, store food and water, raise taxes for these purposes, and give tax credits for preparation—this is a public and a personal admission to ourselves that the problem is real, that it exists, that it exists on Main Street and in the thousands of miles of urban complexes and on the farms. This is to admit to ourselves as human beings, alive with all of our personal goals and aspirations for ourselves and our children, that the threat is here, that it is real, and that it affects us possibly more than any other single factor in our lives. As T. E. Eliot has said, Human kind cannot bear very much reality. ... 

The next challenge in relation to the success of USI is the issue of sustainability. It is well-known that past success has been followed by failure due to a variety of factors in Guatemala and Colombia in South America, it was due to political changes and social upheaval in the former USSR countries due to complacency and apathy, together with political changes and in China due to the cultural revolution when public health programs were suspended. 

People are heavily conditioned to think of safety and health at work as... a matter of detailed rules imposed by external agencies... apathy is the greatest single contributing factor to accidents at work. This attitude will not he cured so long as people are encouraged to think that safety and health at work can be ensured by an ever-increasing army of inspectors. 

The effects of cold stress should also be considered where appropriate. At a critical level it can lead to increasing lethargy and apathy, and poor control of movement. There are obviously areas and jobs where cold stress is a problem. This is a product of air temperature and airflow (the wind chill factor). Jobs where this is a concern include ... 

In this chapter we shall explore the notion of selective sensation or perception, and then relate this concept to perceived risk and injury control. Several factors will be discussed that impact whether employees react to workplace hazards with alarm, apathy, or something in between. Taken together, these factors shape personal perceptions of risk and illustrate why the job of improving safety is so... 

The reporter who first publicized the Kitty Genovese story, and later made it the subject of a book (Rosenthal, 1964), assumed this bystander apathy was caused by big city life. He presumed that people s indifference to their neighbors troubles was a conditioned reflex in crowded cities like New York. After this incident, hundreds of experiments were conducted by social psychologists in an attempt to determine causes of this so called "bystander apathy" (Latane and Darley, 1968). This research has actually discredited the reporter s common-sense conclusion. Several factors other than big city life contribute to bystander apatiiy. Actually, common sense suggests that if more people are present during a crisis, there is a greater ance that a victim will receive help. 

The finding that people often refuse to act in a crisis, especially when they can share the responsibility of intervening with others, is quite analogous to most work settings. Hence, it is important to xmderstand the factors that can influence this resistance, referred to as "bystander apathy." For example, people with a sense of social responsibility and comradeship for others at work, and who believe they have personal control in a just world, are more apt to intervene for the safety of others. It is possible to increase these personal characteristics among people through policy, procedures, and personal interaction. 

Principle 41 Actively caring can be increased directly by educating people about factors contributing to bystander apathy. 

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