Assessment of Disaster Mitigation and Preparedness

Abstract

Background: Strategic planning and objectives at the provincial and local levels should be consistent with the requirements, obligations, and official standards. Objectives: In the present study, we sought to assess the health system’s informative documents on disaster management used by the decision- makers. Methods: This was a qualitative research, which utilized content analysis. Seven national documents were selected from 9 national documents on disaster management. Valid checklists and data extraction forms were used for data collection. Results: Based on the United Nations disaster preparedness (UNDP) protocol, preparedness and mitigation strategies were investigated in national documents. We identified 52 strategies in disaster preparedness and 19 in disaster mitigation. The most mentioned strategies were related to organizational structure, resource planning mobilization, and strategies on evaluation, vulnerability assessment, and disaster response mechanisms. Conclusions: According to the findings of the present study, more attention should be paid to the mission and vision of the organizations in disaster preparedness. To improve the disaster preparedness measures, more emphasis should be placed on other disaster preparedness strategies such as response mechanisms and information systems.