A New Zealand mental health nurse will research the health sector’s level of preparation for the psychosocial effects of major disasters.

Porirua independent consultant Frances Hughes, who is currently working for the Ministry of Health, World Health Organisation and WELTEC, has been awarded a Fulbright New Zealand Senior Scholar Award for 2012.

Ms Hughes will spend five months based at Rutgers University College of Nursing in Picastaway, New Jersey, examining growing international evidence on the topic.

Ms Hughes, who worked in the aftermath of the 2001 World Trade Centre terrorist attacks in New York, hopes to learn lessons from America’s response to the disaster and also major natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina.

Ms Hughes has also trained nurses in the wake of the 2005 Boxing Day tsunami and this year’s Canterbury earthquakes.

“The time is right for this work and for these lessons to be received in New Zealand,” Ms Hughes said.

“Natural disasters will continue to occur and health professionals will always be at the forefront of the response.

“The better prepared our health professionals are in this area, the greater their ability to respond and help our communities, and prevent harm to themselves and others.”

Ms Hughes, one of six people to receive the 2012 scholar awards, first became interested in psychosocial emergency response when she arrived in New York just before the terrorist attacks to take up a Harkness Fellowship in Health Care Policy.

“Staff were prepared for dealing with injuries but the biggest effect was the fact they had no casualties and had to deal with the grief and distress of the community,” she said.

Ms Hughes and an Australian colleague ran a series of workshops in psychosocial emergency response in June, receiving overwhelming interest from nurses working in accident and emergency, mental health, general practitioner, neonatal and palliative care services.

Ms Hughes said the ongoing psychosocial effect of the earthquakes highlighted a need for a level of preparedness and nationwide response that can be sustained over long periods.

“For the most part, our readiness for disaster has relied on the disaster being a 'one off', time-limited event,” Ms Hughes said.