Landmines' Impact On Wellbeing In Cambodia: A Framework Analysis

The rural community we are discussing is How does landmines affect wellbeing in Cambodia by using the structured framework for defining wellbeing by Knight and McNaught.

1. Social Capital and wellbeing

• Specific issues arise from rural community -Landmines in Cambodia
• Social capital awareness in relation to enhancing wellbeing
• Indicators to inform policy / contribution to improve outcomes in area of wellbeing

2. Individual wellbeing related to

• Physical
• Psychological
• Social
• Spiritual
• Elaborate the above points of the specific/relevant issue arise, awareness in relation enhancing wellbeing and policy implement to improve the outcome.

3. Community & Family wellbeing involves

• Housing
• Intergenerational and interpersonal relationships within and without the family
• Access to economic and social resources
• Ecology and the environment
• Physical safety
• Social Cohesion
• Elaborate the above points of the specific/relevant issue arise, awareness in relation enhancing wellbeing and policy implement to improve the outcome.

4. Society wellbeing includes

• Identity
• Economic security
• Physical security
• Political and geographical
• Integrity of the country or state
• Pride and self determination
• Fairness, equity and social justice
• Elaborate the above points of the specific/relevant issue arise, awareness in relation enhancing wellbeing and policy implement to improve the outcome.

Landmines in Cambodia: Existing Services

 Landmine explosions in Cambodia have resulted in 40, 000 patients suffering from amputations. A number of existing demining services have been involved for mitigation including the Mines Advisory Group, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, The Halo Trust and the Cambodian Mine Action Centre formulated in 1992 by the Supreme National Council of Cambodia. There continues to be unexplored areas and over six million mines left to be demined, as estimated by The Cambodian Mine Action Center (Daniels, Braunstein & Nevard, 2015).

The following report aims to highlight the effect of landmines in Cambodia on the wellbeing of citizens through usage of structured framework of wellbeing by Knight and McNaught.

The individual plays the most important role in the determination of wellbeing (La Placa, McNaught & Knight, 2013). This is performed through the individual’s perception considering health, employment status and satisfaction in the provision of appropriate products and services. Individual wellbeing is a multifaceted concept shaped by personal perceptions and experiences along with social standards (La Placa & Knight, 2014).

 Mine explosions have resulted in considerable physiological damage associated with amputations further leading to difficulties in performing daily life sustenance activities. An individual who has sustained landmine injuries is also unable to adequately engage in employment further leading to a loss in living standards. The psychological trauma along with social isolation for fear of being unaccepted by the society further effect the wellbeing of the individual (Hagenlocher et al., 2016). Hence the need of the hour is to not only focus on the physiological health of the amputees, but also on the ensuring psychological treatment for removal of trauma, stress, fear and restore dignity and respect as well, through further provision of funding or employment services for disabled populations (Gu et al., 2015).

Family wellbeing is associated with positive and negative perceptions associated with the basic amenities of living and employment (La Placa & Knight, 2014). The perceptions considering the provision of various products and services along with economic resources also form a part of the principles of family wellbeing. Individual and family welfare share interconnectedness since families motivate and provide individuals with basic requirements of living along with provision of psychological wellbeing such as love, acceptance and care, which leads to optimum emotional and physical development of the concerned person (Menon, Pendakur & Perali, 2015).

In Cambodia, the severe nature of the injuries lead to feelings of fear and trauma amongst the associated family members, along with a loss in living conditions due to the huge economic costs pertaining to treatment along with the loss of employment and income of the effected individual (Ol et al., 2018).  Further, the nature of the injuries resulting in physical incapability often lead to isolation and lack of acceptance of the affected individual in his or her family, for whom he or she may be viewed as a liability further affecting the interconnected psychological wellbeing of the family as well the victim (Schade et al., 2017). Hence, improvement in previously mentioned mental and physical treatment must also consider family centered approaches for the purpose of benefiting the affected families of the victims (Ryff, 2014).

Structured Framework of Wellbeing

Community wellbeing is largely associated with the provision of basic healthcare and hygienic resources, transportation and environmental facilities along with sound environmental and ecological health (La Placa, McNaught & Knight, 2013). For the efficient maintenance of community wellbeing, there must be sufficient provision of ‘social capital’ which will include the various resources, products and services required for positive health and wellbeing outcomes in individuals and associated families (Maynard,  James & Davidson, 2015).

In Cambodia, the wellbeing of the community lies at great risk, mainly due to the lack of sufficient resources or ‘social capital’ (Lye, Ngin & Santoyo-Rio, 2018).  Mine affected regions are greatly devoid of the sufficient financial resources required for the treatment of serious explosion induced injuries. There is a lack of sufficient medical institutes required for appropriate treatment along with lack of sufficient transportation facilities for commuting to remote treatment locations (Kang, Sawada & Chung, 2017). Healthcare service improvement must consider beyond individual and family wellbeing, to include community wellbeing as well, through the including of community healthcare services which will provide affordable care to a large number of families. The government must contact relevant stakeholders to acquire funding for improvement of existing transportation and health facilities along with addition of new treatment institutes to avoid traveling to remote locations (Winterton et al., 2014).

In accordance to the structural framework of wellbeing, the status of the economy in the form of Gross Domestic Product may be indicative of the societal wellbeing (Touchton & Wampler, 2014).  Likewise, the availability of basic living standards, a collective sense of unity and purpose for the fulfillment of shared community goals along with sufficient products and services, form the crux of wellbeing in the society (Warner et al., 2016).

In Cambodia, societal wellbeing is at a loss due to the lack of appropriate healthcare and financial resources for the treatment of victims. This developing country also lacks sufficient policy frameworks, legislative acts, educational programs as well as rehabilitation facilities, indicating lack of adherence to the principles of societal wellbeing (Biswas et al., 2016). Hence, governments must introduce new policies and programs which will provide subsidized services for amputees and their families along with impart healthcare education to the general public on the need to accept and aid landmine explosion victims (Helliwell, Huang and Wang, 2014).

In accordance to the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, which was formulated by the World Health Organization in 1986, countries should aim to improve health promotion through formulation of healthy public policies, creation of supportive environments, strengthening of community action, development of personal skills and reorientation of services of healthcare for the aim to prevent diseases and promote health (Thompson, Watson & Tilford, 2018). In Cambodia, various organization and policies are attempting to mitigate the situation such as The HALO Trust, the United Nations Development Program, ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center and Mines Advisory Group. The UNDP’s efforts include utilization of community services by reinforcement of women for the purpose for demining. However, Cambodia still has to work actively for fulfillment of the Ottawa Charter’s Action Areas for health promotion and creation of conducive environments for mine victims (Palmer, Williams & McPake, 2018).

Individual Wellbeing

Healthcare professionals and government must aim to establish greater number of healthcare institutes, better transportation facilities, patient as well as family centered care for improved psychological and physical health outcomes, community services for better dissemination of healthcare services and educational programs to inculcate compassion and empathy amongst the general public (Fast et al., 2014).

References:

Biswas, S., Peleg, K., Clond, M., Radomislensky, I., Veen, H., Bala, M., ... & Lerner, A. (2016). Landmine Injuries: Treatment and Rehabilitation. Functional Neurology, Rehabilitation, and Ergonomics, 6(3), 153.

Daniels, D., Braunstein, J., & Nevard, M. (2015). Using minehound in Cambodia and Afghanistan. Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, 18(2), 14.

Fast, C., Bach, H., McCarthy, P., & Cox, C. (2017). Mine Detecting Rats Make an Impact in Cambodia. Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, 21(2), 8.

Gu, J., Strauss, C., Bond, R., & Cavanagh, K. (2015). How do mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction improve mental health and wellbeing? A systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies. Clinical psychology review, 37, 1-12.

Hagenlocher, M., Hölbling, D., Kienberger, S., Vanhuysse, S., & Zeil, P. (2016). Spatial assessment of social vulnerability in the context of landmines and explosive remnants of war in Battambang province, Cambodia. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 15, 148-161.

Helliwell, J. F., Huang, H., & Wang, S. (2014). Social capital and well-being in times of crisis. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15(1), 145-162.

Kang, S. J., Sawada, Y., & Chung, Y. W. (2017). Long-term consequences of armed conflicts on poverty: the case of Cambodia. Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, 1(2), 519-535.

La Placa, V., & Knight, A. (2014). Well-being: its influence and local impact on public health. Public Health, 128(1), 38-42.

La Placa, V., McNaught, A., & Knight, A. (2013). Discourse on wellbeing in research and practice. International Journal of Wellbeing, 3(1), 116-125.

Lyne, I., Ngin, C., & Santoyo-Rio, E. (2018). Understanding social enterprise, social entrepreneurship and the social economy in rural Cambodia. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 12(3), 278-298.

Maynard, S., James, D., & Davidson, A. (2015). Determining the value of multiple ecosystem services in terms of community wellbeing: who should be the valuing agent?. Ecological Economics, 115, 22-28.

Menon, M., Pendakur, R., & Perali, F. (2015). All in the family: how do social capital and material wellbeing affect relational wellbeing?. Social Indicators Research, 124(3), 889-910.

Ol, H. S., Van Heng, Y., Danielsson, L., & Husum, H. (2018). Mirror therapy for phantom limb and stump pain: a randomized controlled clinical trial in landmine amputees in Cambodia. Scandinavian journal of pain, 18(4), 603-610.

Palmer, M., Williams, J., & McPake, B. (2018). Standard of Living and Disability in Cambodia. The Journal of Development Studies, 1-21.

Ryff, C. D. (2014). Psychological well-being revisited: Advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia. Psychotherapy and psychosomatics, 83(1), 10-28.

Schade, A. T., Mendes da Costa, T., Gollogly, J., & Monsell, F. (2017). Design of a patient information leaflet in a surgical centre in Cambodia. Tropical doctor, 47(3), 279-282.

Thompson, S. R., Watson, M. C., & Tilford, S. (2018). The Ottawa Charter 30 years on: still an important standard for health promotion. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 56(2), 73-84.

Touchton, M., & Wampler, B. (2014). Improving social well-being through new democratic institutions. Comparative Political Studies, 47(10), 1442-1469.

Warner, E. L., Kent, E. E., Trevino, K. M., Parsons, H. M., Zebrack, B. J., & Kirchhoff, A. C. (2016). Social well?being among adolescents and young adults with cancer: a systematic review. Cancer, 122(7), 1029-1037.

Winterton, R., Hulme Chambers, A., Farmer, J., & Munoz, S. A. (2014). Considering the implications of place-based approaches for improving rural community wellbeing: The value of a relational lens. Rural society, 23(3), 283-295.