Research proposal on Humanitarian aid worker and mindfulness

Research proposal
Research proposal on Humanitarian aid worker and mindfulness
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1Research proposal
Introduction
Humanitarian aid workers assist people in distress, who are in helpless situations. They are
temporary aid and logistic providers. Humanitarian aid workers was the real founders of the Red
Cross who came forward and understood the needs of the affected people in times of global
disasters. They formed a team to rescue them, these rescue teams provides temporary aid to
people until a permanent help from governments comes (Rizkalla, and Segal, 2019). They help
homeless, refugees, victims of natural calamity or disaster survivors. They provide food, shelter
and medical assistance.
The job of aid workers is very tough. They work in tight deadlines, taking multiple
responsibilities, they have heavy workload on daily basis. They work continuously in an
insecure, challenging terrain. These environments continuously drain them from within and bring
them into stress, anxiety and mental pressure. These situations gradually pull aid workers
towards the stage of burnout affecting their mental health. Humanitarian aid workers get exposed
to atrocities and violence while working under high work demands (Jachens, Houdmont, and
Thomas, 2019). They face violence in the process of helping needy people. This generally results
in burnout, trauma, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Recently there has been
several research focused on evaluating the support given to humanitarian aid workers.
The state of being happy and enjoying the comfort of having the necessary resources is part of
well being (Stoddard, et al, 2017). Well being comes from healthy physical and mental health.
Mental health also refers to emotional wellbeing, behavior and cognitive coordination. Mental
peace is very important for healthy relationships, performing daily duties and physical health.
Thus it’s a part of the work that all organizations dealing with aid worker should work upon their
mental health requirements.
There are methods to calm the daily work pressure and stress. Mindfulness is one such method of
doing meditation under the supervision of trained staff. It’s a meditation process in which the
mind and soul are freed from any kind of thought. It has been proved to be a great way of
increasing focus, decrease stress and stimulate energy through the body (Patel, and Wild, 2018).
This is just one method to support them but there are other methods by which the aid workers

2Research proposal
can be helped to relax. These methods needs fund for organizing training and camps. The
organization they work with should take the responsibility to engage them in mindfulness
activities.
The research proposal is based on the finding the gap, what are the barriers an aid worker faces
while trying to access mental health strategies at the work place (Scarnecchia, et al., 2017). How
do organizations make policies to give their humanitarian aid worker the mental aid. Do the
organizations even follow such polices or there is no such means. What are the methods they
follow to get work life balance including the mental health for their employees. Can this be cured
with training done from the funds raised? The concept of mindfulness is very new and does it
apply to everyone in bringing mental health to all. While in the process they will be able to gain
more mental strength to combat complex pressurized work conditions. To be more ethical
towards the study the research shall try to include aid workers who are across the world and not
accumulated at one place.
The research question
This study will explore the potential barriers while implementing mental health strategies among
humanitarian aid workers across the globe. What are the policies that their organization adheres
to for their mental health? To research their polices and are they following it? What are the
psychological factors that they get affected while performing their jobs? Also to analyze the
occupational risk they go through while being on duty? Can mindfulness training be helpful for
them?