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Management Challenges of Informal Volunteers: The Case of Kermanshah Earthquake in Iran (2017)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 December 2019

Simintaj Sharififar ,
Amir Khoshvaghti  and
Katayoun Jahangiri
Simintaj Sharififar
Affiliation:
Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Faculty member, Nursing Faculty of Aja University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Tehran, Iran
Amir Khoshvaghti
Affiliation:
Assistant professor, Infectious Diseases Research Center, Aerospace and Subaquatic Medicine Faculty, Aja University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Katayoun Jahangiri*
Affiliation:
Associate professor, Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Tehran, Iran
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Katayoun Jahangiri, Associate Professor, Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (e-mail: k.jahangiri@sbmu.ac.ir).
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Abstract

Objectives:

Two of the 5 great earthquakes have occurred in Iran between 1990 and 2005. Informal volunteers’ management is a determinant factor in disaster management. This research was conducted to investigate the management challenges of informal volunteers after the Kermanshah earthquake.

Methods:

The study is qualitative, done by content analysis. Data were gathered by observation and semi-structured interview.

Results:

Analysis of 12 interviews resulted in 4 main categories (inappropriate dispatch, volunteers’ inefficiency, decrease in volunteers’ incentive, deficiency of welfare services) and 11 subcategories.

Discussion:

To avoid mistrust and decrease in motivation, proposed actions are: standardize information collection, apply effective communication, create registration networks and accreditation of certificates and expertise, and perform periodic drills.

Conclusion:

We recommend the start of extracurricular programs and applying potential volunteers within the preparedness phase, and follow-up at the beginning of the response phase. Decrease of motivation to participate in future events needs to be studied more comprehensively.

Keywords

disasterearthquakeinformalmanagementvolunteer
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 7 - 14
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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