A comprehensive review of the articles published in the field of health in emergencies and disasters in Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Iran is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. A research-based approach is essential to reduce the effects of disasters and provide effective responses. This study aims to review the articles published in the field of emergencies and disasters in Iran.

Methods: a combination of descriptive and qualitative content analysis using Hsieh and Shannon´s method was done. Since the first and most well-known specialized journal in the field of emergencies and disasters in Iran is the health in emergencies and disasters quarterly (HDQ), all articles published in this journal were examined in terms of theme and scientmetric indicators.

Results: regarding the type of research, 103 were quantitative (66.5%), 18 were qualitative (11.6%), and 4 (2.6%) were performed by mixed method. Most of the articles (n=116, 76.3%) were original research. The most frequently studied risk was traffic accidents (n=17, 10.96%) followed by earthquakes (n=10, 6.45%) and floods (n=8, 5.16%). In terms of theme and content, 103 published articles were related to one of the 4 main phases of the disaster risk management cycle where most of them were related to preparedness (n=48, 46.6%) followed by mitigation (n=26, 25.24%), response (n=20, 19.42%), and recovery (n=9, 8.47%) phases.

Conclusion: although there are studies related to the four phases of disaster risk management cycle in Iran, most of them are related to assessing preparedness followed by mitigation. In addition, qualitative and mixed studies could have more significant contribution to this field of research, accelerating this process requires the development of disaster research methodology training and researcher training programs as well as their organized and financial support.