Community-Level Resiliency Intervention in a Post-disaster Environment: The Three Mile Island Health and Environmental Information Series—Theoretical Assumptions, Implementation, and Participant Response

Abstract

This chapter presents a case illustration of a community-level resiliency intervention in a post-disaster environment. The intervention described was the Three Mile Island Health and Environmental Information Series, a community course developed to provide information pertaining to unanswered questions which had remained among TMI community members since the March 28, 1979 nuclear accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear generating facility. This intervention is described within the context of unique post-disaster psychosocial circumstances in the community at that time which contributed to chronic stress. These conditions included lack of clear, understandable information about the accident and its aftermath as well as loss of faith in experts associated with conflicting and incomplete information delivered by officials at the time of the accident. This experience has been referred to as an "information crisis" in the literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved). (chapter)