امداد و نجات
سال:1388 | دوره:1 | شماره:2 |تعداد مقالات:16

INTRUDUNCTION: Relief workers are among the groups that are present in the site from the very first moments of an accident or disaster and perform relief tasks. Various studies have shown that relief is one of the stressful activities due to a set of factors during a crisis. The present study was conducted with the aim to determine the effectiveness of the cognitive behavioral stress management (CBSM) on happiness and quality of life (QOL) among the relief workers of the Red Crescent Society in Shemiranat, Iran. METHODS: In this quasi-experimental study with the pre-test and post-test design with a control group, out of all relief workers of the Red Crescent Society in Shemiranat City, 30 individuals were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly divided into two equal experimental and control groups. Then, the subjects in the experimental group were placed under the effect of the independent variable (CBSM) during 20 hours (two 10-hour workshop sessions). The instruments used in the study included the Oxford Happiness and Quality of Life Questionnaires that were implemented in both groups in the pre-test and post-test stages. Finally, the data collected were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). FINDINGS: There was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores in the two experimental and control groups in the variables of happiness and QOL. CONCLUSION: CBSM training increased happiness and QOL among the relief workers of the Red Crescent Society.

INTRODUCTION: The density of the country’ s information infrastructure in Tehran, Iran, and the high vulnerability of these infrastructures raise the question of what effects the demolition of these infrastructures would have. Natural disaster management is entirely dependent on the capacity and efficiency of the central government in Iran and the government also mobilizes and organizes crisis management and resources through an almost monopoly and exclusively controlled information system. Therefore, the present study was accomplished to examine some of the likely impacts and consequences of an earthquake in Tehran from a prospective perspective. METHODS: Using documentary data and the implementation of a two-round expert panel, it was examined whether the demolition of information infrastructures due to a potential earthquake in Tehran would impose efficacy and influence crises on the government. In this way, basic study information was collected using library documents and the futurological aspects of the problem, i. e. the probability of a severe earthquake, destruction of media infrastructure, and the subsequent possible crises were investigated using the Expert panel method. FINDINGS: Taking into account the tectonic potentials and historical backgrounds, the occurrence of a major earthquake with magnitude greater than 7 is highly probable in Tehran. Given the density of information structures, installations, and trusted organizations in vulnerable areas, there is a high likelihood of destruction of a large part of the information infrastructure and networks. This situation, in the absence of measures and sufficient alternative networks, would increase the likelihood of severe disruptions in the information and crisis management process. Such a situation, given the social and political contexts, is likely to trigger or intensify the efficacy and influence crises. CONCLUSION: Considering the drawbacks present in the information structure, i. e. the concentration in Tehran and the imminent destructive earthquake in Tehran, as well as the location of its physical buildings in the vicinity of earthquake faults, there would be many crises facing the country.

INTRODUCTION: As social and environmental problems is rapidly increasing, social responsibility is increasingly being more important. Now, worldwide profit and nonprofit organizations such as Red Cross Society are paying more attention to differentiate or improve their brands as well as the level of participations by cause marketing campaigns. This study aimed to explore comprehensive factors that can influence consumer response in cause marketing campaigns in Iran context. METHODS: Using a qualitative grounded theory approach, consumer experiences about real cases of related campaigns in Iran market were addressed through deep interviews with 18 Iranian consumers. The analysis of data was done by NVivo software through a reciprocating process and principles of grounded theory. FINDINGS: The suggested inductive model advocated that cause marketing campaigns (including structural-related campaign factors from corporate side, structural-related campaign factors from cause side, implementation-related campaign factors, and consumer-related factors) could affect consumer response pyramid. CONCLUSION: In addition to structural factors, which often examined in past research, our findings suggest that implementation-and consumer-related factors can influence consumer’ s response, and in planning cause-marketing campaigns, these vital factors must be notice.

INTRODUCTION: The short resuscitation time for patients with asthma is one of the most urgent medical conditions with a high importance. In this study, the geographic information system (GIS) is used to analyze the access and transfer of emergency patients to health care centers (resuscitation, specialized, and health care services) to patients with respiratory problems with moderate and acute symptoms as the statistical sample. METHODS: Identifying the service area of the eligible health centers based on two factors of time and distance, the districts and streets covered by these centers were identified. Then, by spatial analysis, the appropriate service area available to the medical emergency centers and patients of this category was determined to facilitate their access to these areas. In addition, by calculating the time and distance cost matrix of the location of the patients with asthma attack relative to the treatment centers, the best treatment center for patient transfer was identified. After summarizing the appropriate model to calculate the service area for these patients, the spatial and descriptive data were collected in the study area (District 3 of Tehran, Iran) and their thematic maps were produced. Then, the time and distance matrix of transfer of patients was calculated for the spatial analysis and facilitation of their access to treatment centers related to respiratory diseases based on the two above factors. FINDINGS: Geospatial information system (GIS) and analysis of network access to appropriate respiratory care providers could save time and costs considerably. CONCLUSION: Establishment of time and location management systems for ambulances and identification of specific types of diseases at the moment of contact with the emergency departments of the medical care units can also play an important role in the rapid transfer of the patients to these centers.

INTRODUCTION: The Islamic Republic of Iran Red Crescent Society, which is one of the elements of the country’ s crisis management organization, is always present at the scene from the earliest moments in the critical situations such as floods, earthquakes, fires, etc. and deals with the crisis and facilitates the situation. Given the increasing role of technology in all aspects of human life, the present study is carried out aiming to investigate the role of new technologies in crisis management in the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS). METHODS: This study was applied in terms of objective and qualitative in terms of data collection. The statistical population of the study consisted of the IRCS experts 9 of whom were selected by the purposeful snowball sampling method. The data collection tool was in-depth interviews. The content analysis method was used to analyze the findings of the interview using the categorization method. RESULTS: New technologies help prevent crises by creating motivation, enhancing interaction, and informing. In addition, using technology in the crisis prevention phase leads to the increased learning, decreased costs, reduced losses, and increased awareness. The application of new technologies in the crisis prevention stage also faces challenges, including infrastructure, human resources, education and research, culture, and access challenges. CONCLUSION: New technologies have led to the creation of social networks, interaction with the international community, and providing information at any time and place, which has a vital and remarkable role in crisis prevention.

INTRODUCTION: In order to prevent and reduce the death and disability rates caused by road accidents, it is necessary to optimize the location of the roadside emergency medical service (EMS) stations. Optimal selection of the EMS stations is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem and usually involves the analysis of a large number of possible options and evaluation criteria. Nowadays, various MCDM methods are used to solve location problems that may generate different results. The fuzzification of these methods has always been one of the controversial issues with many agreements and disagreements. METHODS: In this study, a review was first performed on the weighting methods including five non-fuzzy weighting methods as row sum, column sum, arithmetic mean, geometric mean, and eigenvalues as well as two fuzzy weighting methods including: “ Liu and Chen method” and “ Chang Method” . Then, the fuzzy and non-fuzzy MCDM methods [including analytic hierarchy process (AHP), fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) Chang, FAHP Liu, Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), and fuzzy TOPSIS (FTOPSIS)] were employed to locate the roadside EMS stations. Due to insufficient information and all the required layers in Iran, the information of the Interstate-65 (I-65) Highway between Montgomery and Birmingham, Alabama, USA was used in the present study. Finally, the results of these methods were compared using the mean-score, Borda, and Copeland prioritization strategies. FINDINGS: Given the importance and sensitivity of the issue, a combination of the MCDM methods was utilized to locate the EMS stations and the most appropriate non-fuzzy and fuzzy weighting methods were identified and the methods used were compared in terms of complexity, volume and time of computations, and the level of impact of the expert opinion. CONCLUSION: The AHP, FAHP Liu and Chen, FAHP Chang, and TOPSIS methods yielded more reliable results in locating the roadside EMS stations, in addition, using FTOPSIS fuzzy method was more risky and is not recommended. The non-fuzzy AHP method was identified to be the most reliable method in the present study.

INTRODUCTION: Nowadays, due to population growth and resource constraints, cities are more vulnerable towards the crisis. Reducing the vulnerability of urban land use, with utilizing new approaches of crisis management such as passive defense, can be useful in creating a secure environment in cities. This is of the most important goals, planners and city managers are going to implement in cities; and how to deal with natural disasters, is of the major concerns of societies. This study aimed to evaluate city vulnerability in Mahabad City, Iran, based on the passive defense approach. METHODS: In this applied descriptive-analytical research, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model was used to analyze the data, and Geographic Information System (GIS) software was used to draw the maps. Then, to clarify the positive and negative features, or the opportunities and the threats, the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) technique was applied. FINDINGS: Based on the AHP model, the highest records were given to vital factors such as networks, fuel storage, water, and electricity, while the lowest records were given to higher education centers. Moreover, based on the SWOT analysis, the most important weaknesses of Mahabad City were as the compact and dense texture of the city, the low width of the most of the passageways, and the aggregation of major activities in the city center. CONCLUSION: Research results show that in Mahabad City, there is no comprehensive plan to secure citizens. Urban planning by relevant institutions and administrative councils does not fit the physical and human components of the city.