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Surviving sexual violence has been described as one of the most traumatic life experiences, and social support is an extremely important coping strategy for survivors. With the rapidly increasing number of available online support communities, understanding exactly what kinds of support survivors need in the context on online social support groups is essential. This chapter presents a study of the types and extent of social support posts exchanged by members of an online social support group for survivors of sexual violence. The Social Support Behavior Code framework was used to code 755 messages that were posted over a 7-day period. Overall, emotional support (42.6%) was the most common support contained in posts, followed by information (21.2%), esteem (20.9%), network (13.1%), and tangible support (2.2%).

During natural disasters, communications can be disrupted, which negatively impacts response time of first responders thus diminishing the level of care provided to disaster victims. In the fall of 2014, as part of a larger community-based participatory research study, the Tarleton Area Amateur Radio Club (TAARC) joined the Department of Nursing, Tarleton State University, and provided amateur radio communications during a disaster preparedness simulation. The simulation was conducted to determine the ability of the university to provide rapid response and render quality, acute healthcare to its neighbors during a natural disaster. The primary goals of the TAARC were to assess the ability to quickly establish radio communications, accurately relay messages, and establish rapport and affiliation between each facility commander and the amateur radio operators. It was determined that communication was key to provide quality care, and the inclusion of amateur radio operators in the simulation helped ensure rapid response times and rapid transport of critical victims.

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