Finnish Peacekeepers Experiences of Serving Abroad during COVID-19 Pandemic
Kiilava, Pauliina (2021)
Lataukset:
Kiilava, Pauliina
2021
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021121626453
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021121626453
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding of how a pandemic is experienced in the peacekeeping context, which is an exceptional work environment and differs greatly from the civilian everyday life. The experiences of Finnish peacekeepers were gathered for the Finnish Defence Forces Center for Military Medicine.
Previous studies show that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the experienced level of stress, both physical and mental, and increased the workload of peacekeepers around the world. Due to the pandemic, the status of some peacekeeping missions has changed from active to paused because of the traveling restrictions. Studies have reported that professional groups working in the front line have experienced sleeping problems and have been more prone to mental health problems and stress.
This thesis was a qualitative study that aimed to investigate the Finnish peacekeepers' experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic phenomenon while they were deployed abroad on a UNIFIL peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. The peacekeepers' experiences were gathered anonymously using an online questionnaire. The results were analyzed with inductive content analysis. The classical trustworthiness criteria were used in quality assurance of the study.
The results indicate that Finnish peacekeepers are very content with their pre-deployment training. Peacekeepers experiences indicate that the instructions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic have been clear and easy to follow. Most experienced that having lived with COVID-19 for that past one and half years in Finland did not make COVID-19 pandemic a major factor in their serving abroad. The instructions regarding COVID-19 were the same in Lebanon as in Finland. Quarantines were the only thing that was almost unanimously experiences as an unpleasant or negative feature. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly limited the opportunities to work together with the locals and restricted the peacekeepers' movements both inside and outside the camp. This seemed to be something that most had been looking forward and now had to miss out. The peacekeepers were content with the missions’ staff's efforts to prevent infections, with the provided information on how to keep healthy and the arrangements that were made to make the quarantine time endurable. The results of this thesis can be used to improve the education and training given to peacekeepers before deployment by the International Education Department of Finnish Defence Forces Central for Military Medicine. Insights gained from the experiences can help minimize the consequences of the pandemic peacekeepers in the future deployments. Pre-deployment training can be developed by increasing education on infection prevention and means to manage quarantine time.
In the event of new pandemics, it would be recommended to execute an easily approachable questionnaire to gain information of where the education was successful, how the arrangements were experienced and what the peacekeepers' wish would be done differently next time. Considering these wishes and proposals might result in improved resilience and preparedness of peacekeepers.
Previous studies show that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the experienced level of stress, both physical and mental, and increased the workload of peacekeepers around the world. Due to the pandemic, the status of some peacekeeping missions has changed from active to paused because of the traveling restrictions. Studies have reported that professional groups working in the front line have experienced sleeping problems and have been more prone to mental health problems and stress.
This thesis was a qualitative study that aimed to investigate the Finnish peacekeepers' experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic phenomenon while they were deployed abroad on a UNIFIL peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. The peacekeepers' experiences were gathered anonymously using an online questionnaire. The results were analyzed with inductive content analysis. The classical trustworthiness criteria were used in quality assurance of the study.
The results indicate that Finnish peacekeepers are very content with their pre-deployment training. Peacekeepers experiences indicate that the instructions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic have been clear and easy to follow. Most experienced that having lived with COVID-19 for that past one and half years in Finland did not make COVID-19 pandemic a major factor in their serving abroad. The instructions regarding COVID-19 were the same in Lebanon as in Finland. Quarantines were the only thing that was almost unanimously experiences as an unpleasant or negative feature. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly limited the opportunities to work together with the locals and restricted the peacekeepers' movements both inside and outside the camp. This seemed to be something that most had been looking forward and now had to miss out. The peacekeepers were content with the missions’ staff's efforts to prevent infections, with the provided information on how to keep healthy and the arrangements that were made to make the quarantine time endurable. The results of this thesis can be used to improve the education and training given to peacekeepers before deployment by the International Education Department of Finnish Defence Forces Central for Military Medicine. Insights gained from the experiences can help minimize the consequences of the pandemic peacekeepers in the future deployments. Pre-deployment training can be developed by increasing education on infection prevention and means to manage quarantine time.
In the event of new pandemics, it would be recommended to execute an easily approachable questionnaire to gain information of where the education was successful, how the arrangements were experienced and what the peacekeepers' wish would be done differently next time. Considering these wishes and proposals might result in improved resilience and preparedness of peacekeepers.