Journal of Rescue and Relief
Year:2016 | Volume:7 | Issue:4|Papers Count:10

Background: Public education is considered as one of the most important methods for preventing and coping with natural disasters. So, providing a model for designing and implementation of these trainings is of great importance. This study aimed to do this.Method: This was an applied research with a combined method of data gathering. In qualitative part of the survey, the research tools were organizational documentations and semi-structured interviews with focus groups while in quantitative part questionnaire was used. Research population consisted of experts in public education, administrators and population planners. Purposive sampling was used to reach theoretical saturation of the data. To validate the model, 17 participants answered the questionnaire. In qualitative part, validity was confirmed by the participants and in quantitative part, content validity method was used. The reliability was approved obtaining Cronbach's alpha of 0.98.Findings: Public education was imperfect in terms of organization, regulations, structure and process. A public education model based on components such as need assessment, design, implementation, evaluation and motivational mechanisms in both aspects of conventional and distance training was provided. Using t-test showed validity of the model in both aspects of conventional (t=0.25; P<0.05) and distance (t=-0.17; P<0.05) training.Conclusion: Based on the results, a comprehensive, holistic and systematic public education model in both conventional and distance is presented. To make the education more effective, some subsystems such as needs assessment, design, implementation, evaluation and motivational mechanisms should to be considered.

Background: Throughout history, humans have always been faced earthquakes as a natural disaster and incurred physical, social, economic and environmental harm. The best way to deal with this threat is being ready; one of the basic strategies is to have knowledge about the degree of vulnerability of the city against earthquake.Method: Different criteria are involved in modeling of the vulnerability of the city most of them are of the nature of the place; so, modeling of the vulnerability is a multi-criteria evaluation of the place. In this study, 11 criteria were extracted via reviewing previous researches and consulting the experts. Then, the modeling was done for Babol city, Iran, using fuzzy logic model and weighted linear combination method under conditions of uncertainty.Findings: Modeling in Babol city showed that 10%, 24%, 27%, 28% and 11% of the buildings were in the condition of very low, low, medium, high, and very high vulnerability.Conclusion: Babol city can be considered as vulnerable to earthquake as nearly 70% of the buildings were labeled “medium” to “high” vulnerable. Hence, basic interventions for crisis management should be taken on the agenda of the relevant officials before an earthquake occurs.

Background: Job satisfaction is an emotional reaction to the job and physical and social conditions. In other words, job satisfaction is a positive and pleasant feeling achieved from the results of individual’ job results and experience. One of the factors affect employees' job satisfaction is mental health. This study aimed to assess the relationship of mental health and job satisfaction among roadside rescue workers and non-rescue staff of Red Crescent society in Semnan Province, Iran.Method: In this descriptive survey, the data were collected using Job Descriptive Index (JDI) General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Statistical analysis was done using t-test via SPSS16 software.Findings: There was a significant relationship between the mental health and job satisfaction. There were not any significant differences between the rescue and nonrescue workers in terms of the mental health (t=-1.338; P=0.183) and job satisfaction (t=-0.507; P=0.613). Only a significant difference was seen in workplace satisfaction which was more among non-rescue workers.Conclusion: In our society, the men are an important part of workforce and the support of their families; in addition, they spent more than half of the hours at work; so, considering their health and job satisfaction and making strategies to promote their mental and job conditions is important. Lower workplace satisfaction among roadside rescue workers, as staff with a hazardous and sensitive job, shows the importance of paying more attention to their work problems.

Background: Today, due to climate changes, climate risks are the most important challenges and threats to mankind, among which flood is one of the most common hazards. In Iran, due to its geographical location and climatic conditions, this hazard causes loss of lives and enormous financial damages to agricultural land, infrastructure, and settlements of the country every year. Haraz region, as one of the most populous areas in the north of Iran, within the two provinces of Mazandaran and Tehran, with one of the major transportation arteries, is faced with a flood incident each year. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim to develop a rainfall-runoff model for flood risk management in the main road in Haraz.Method: The research method was statistical documentary. Due to the purpose and content of the study, the research was based on climatic data, geographic information, and satellite imagery of Haraz region. The numerical model of the Hydrologic Engineering Center' s Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) was used for flood modeling. With this model, the hydrograph of each rainfall incident could be produced. The topographical features and hydro-geomorphological of the study area, as quantitative data and in the form of a raster, were defined as topographic profiles. Then, 29 sub-regions were identified. With the completion of the required information, the med-term and long-term return period, and flood hydrograph, the flood plan for the area was determined. Antisense method was used to evaluate the status of regional changes in precipitation.Findings: Increasing trend in precipitation of the area, changes in precipitation time until the end of the season, especially in winter and summer, irregularities in the regional climate system, and the effect of global climate changes and global warming were observed. Based on the model results, in the mid-term and long-term return periods, Tiran and Andvar areas (Iran) were the most susceptible to flooding in Haraz region. The large flood area in the Haraz River was about 300 meters and the small river beds were 20-35 meters. The river flood active zone was about 100 to 150 meters and parts of this area can be flooded periodically. Areas in the southern part of the Haraz region, due to their lack of vegetation and a covering of snow, were more prone to massive runoff and floods than other areas. Due to the existence of such circumstances, comprehensive watershed studies and flood control systems, and establishment and equipping of pre-hospital care stations for times of crisis are necessary.Conclusion: By integrating a geographic information system (GIS) and hydrological models, the interaction effects of physiographic factors and the climate can be studied on the flooding potential of the watersheds. The prioritization of flood potential high risk areas could be performed better through considering the possibility of peak flow, important residential and communication areas, and the role of flood routing in waterways. Considering that the infrastructure of crisis management is prevention, analysis of flood prone areas could be effective in the flood prevention plan. Results of this study were important in the implementation of the flood risk management plans before the crisis.

Background: Reviewing the history of human warfare, particularly recent wars, indicates that many countries have hidden or apparent access to chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. The Iraqi Ba' athist regime used mustard gas against Iran 92 times during the war and its long-term complications can still be observed among the victims. In fact, the lack of correct attitude, knowledge, and skills regarding coping and protective measures caused Iran to be the biggest victim of chemical weapons in the world. This article aimed to provide methods to gain insight, knowledge, and skills regarding protective measures for chemical warfare for new students of the School of Nursing, AJA University of Medical Sciences in Tehran.Methods: This descriptive survey explored methods to gain insight, knowledge, and skills regarding protective measures for chemical warfare for the new students of the Army Nursing School. The study participants consisted of 78 nursing students who had not received military trainings in the school of nursing. The data gathering tool was a questionnaire and a researcher-made checklist. To determine the validity and reliability of the data collection tool, face validity and Cronbach's alpha were used, respectively. Results were analyzed using statistical tests in SPSS software (P<0.05).Findings: The methods of acquiring knowledge on chemical warfare were Basij, high school defense preparedness course, broadcasting media, and textual sources with mean scores of 32.7, 37.7, 35.1, and 32, respectively. Moreover, the mean of insight regarding chemical warfare training methods were 102.8 for Basij trainings, 108.6 for high school defense preparedness course, 92.87 for broadcasting media, and 103.6 for newspaper and books. ANOVA test showed no significant difference in the methods of acquiring knowledge (P= 0.94) and insight (P=0.16). This indicated that there were no significant differences among students regarding the knowledge and insight of chemical warfare methods. The impact of Basij on preparing students for self-protection was 44.18, high school defense preparedness course was 45.78, broadcasting media was 42.62, and newspaper and books were 44.07. This indicated a statistically significant difference in the methods of acquiring personal protection skills during chemical attacks (P<0.05).Conclusion: Due to being at the forefront and confronting such events, raising the awareness of army nurses and training them appropriate skills is essential. Lack of such preparation or believing that such preparation is unnecessary is a disaster. In addition, medical centers and other accident-related organizations should hold workshops in this regard.

Background: Given the importance of the topic of earthquakes, as a natural disaster, challenges and damages caused by them in human societies, especially in urban settlements, considering construction issues and policies in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the indicators of the urban texture is important. With such necessity and the geological condition awareness of the city, due to earthquakes, this study aimed to assess the vulnerability of physical parameters by focusing on District 1 of Tabriz, Iran.Methods: This was a descriptive-analytic study. Information on indicators of research topics were classified into six dimensions, including life, quality, number of floors, occupation level, user type, and building materials, and the map of their current situation was produced. ArcGIS software was used to analyze the data and functions of fuzzy analysis and/or fuzzy gamma analysis were used to determine the best conditions and appropriate zones.Findings: The fuzzy Gamma function with the threshold of 0.9 was better than other fuzzy functions in the seismic vulnerability analysis of physical indicators of District 1 of Tabriz. According to the results of these functions, the north and north-western parts of the region and the central parts towards the south of the region were vulnerable.Conclusion: The results indicated that the northern part of District 1 and areas in the western part of the region had high potential for seismic vulnerability in terms of physical indicators. Moreover, the building blocks in the southern parts and areas south of the border had medium to high vulnerability which required careful planning before the crisis in the region in terms of strengthening and improving physical indicators, especially in the field of construction, and quality and type of materials.

Background: This study was done considering the role of the Red Crescent society in crisis management. In other words, this study aimed to depict a model to determine the function of public relations unit of Iranian Red Crescent society in critical conditions.Method: In a study with qualitative method, basic and in-depth interviews were used to gather the viewpoints of experts and specialists in communications, media and crisis management. The participants were selected via convenience sampling. As a qualitative research ends after reaching theoretical saturation of the data, research sample reached to 27.Findings: The collected data were summarized and presented in the form of a 23-steps model.Conclusion: Our findings give some indications of a more specialized model of public relations duties as an aid unit compared to some other studies in Iran and foreign countries. First, as there are no direct studies on public relations duties among the researches done on crisis management in Iran; and second, despite numerous studies on crisis management and the role of public relations in other countries, most of the presented models have up to 10 steps which are similar and highly overlapped. In fact, our presented 23-step model in addition to containing all the results of previous studies includes more detailed and specialized points about the duties of a public relation unit of an aid organization.

Background: Tehran, Iran, has many old urban districts. Thus, it seems that in the event of an incident, pre-hospital care will face obstacles and problems in Tehran. District 11 of Tehran municipality was considered for this research due to the specific characteristics of its old texture and the research experience of the authors. The aim of the present study was to identify and analyze strategic problems and provide suggestions for resolving these problems.Methods: In this study, strategic strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis was used. The data gathering tool was a questionnaire and its validity and reliability were confirmed by experts and through calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α=0.8), respectively. The statistical population of the study consisted of all rescue workers of the fire department and residents of district 11 of Tehran. According to the 2011 census, the total population of district 11 of Tehran municipality was 288884. The study sample size was 120 individuals. The study subjects consisted of 30 rescue workers selected with the introduction of the regional fire department experts and 90 ordinary individuals and workers randomly selected from among the residents of District 11. In this study, after completing the questionnaire, the SWOT model was used to evaluate and analyze the data.Findings: By combining the four factors in the production of strategies of WO, WT, SO, and ST, they were ranked as SO strategy with mean of 3.65 in the first place, ST strategy with mean of 2.74 in the second place, WO strategy with mean of 1.81 in the third place, and WT strategy with mean of 2.72 in the fourth place. The acceptable strategy in this region, given that it is located in the first quarter of the outer and inner matrix, was aggressive strategy. The findings showed that in the framework of this strategy, strengths can be used to exploit external opportunities.Conclusion: Erosion and compactness, inappropriate roads, ruined residential areas, excavation sites, erosion of energy corridors, high traffic load, the mounted and dismounted capacity at the entrance were the main weaknesses of the region. On the other hand, historical background, social structure, geographical location, proximity to downtown, history and historical identity, and strong neighborhood relationships were the most important strengths of the region. The dominant strategy of organizing district 11 was aggressive SO type and favorable opportunities and conditions can be used to eliminate external threats.