A UCCS professor wants to help survivors of the Waldo Canyon fire recover and use lessons learned to help future disaster victims.
Lori James, associate professor, Department of Psychology, seeks up to 200 people to participate in a research study about difficulties they are experiencing in the wake of Colorado’s worst wildfire, June 23 to July 5. Those difficulties can include anxiety or depression that occurred as a result of loss of property or income, the stress of evacuations, or fears caused by news coverage of the fire. James is particularly interested in people who feel they are experiencing significant distress at this time.
“As researchers, we’ve studied communities in Texas that were affected by hurricanes and also by wildfires,” James said. “The Waldo Canyon fire provides an opportunity to gain new information about helping people increase their skills in coping with unhealthy reactions to a disaster. This might help the next community recover more quickly from a natural disaster but also might help members of our home community cope.”
People who agree to participate in the study will be asked to complete a survey that examines the difficulties they are experiencing in the wake of the fire, their coping abilities, and general demographic information. Some participants will be provided tools available through a website that they will be encouraged to use to help them work through their difficulties immediately. Other participants will be provided website access 30 days later. James’ goal is to determine if the tools on the website prove helpful to participants.
The study is expected to last about 60 days and all participants will complete three sets of assessments. For each assessment they take, they will be paid $25 for their time.
“Participation is voluntary,” James said. “Folks will have the right to discontinue at any time and to refuse to answer any questions we ask that might be too painful to answer. If someone feels there anxiety is extremely serious, additional contact information will also be provided to assist them in seeking professional help.”
James herself was evacuated from the fire area and understands first-hand the stress that many westside Colorado Springs residents, as well as residents of other nearby communities, felt when mandatory evacuation orders were hastily issued June 26 as the Waldo Canyon fire leapt toward homes in the Mountain Shadows area. And while she identifies with many of the evacuees and the individuals who lost their homes, no personal information will be linked to survey responses. All information survey respondents provide will be stored on a secure computer server and data will remain confidential.
For more information, contact study personnel at 255-3709, or [email protected]. To participate immediately, please go directly to the survey website: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/waldorecovery
Photo by Philip Denman
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