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Role of Religious Institutions in Disaster Risk Management: A Systematic Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2020

Rahim Ali Sheikhi ,
Hesam Seyedin ,
Ghader Qanizadeh  and
Katayoun Jahangiri
Rahim Ali Sheikhi*
Affiliation:
Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Hesam Seyedin
Affiliation:
Health Management and Economic Research Center, Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Ghader Qanizadeh
Affiliation:
Health Management Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Katayoun Jahangiri
Affiliation:
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 Hesam Seyedin, Health Management and Economic Research Center, Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Tehran, Iran (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

Objectives:

The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the relevant research on religious organizations’ participation in disasters risk management and to understand the ways in which these organizations impact on disaster management. Today, community-based disaster risk management is emphasized as a very effective approach. Religious organizations are one of the most important components of community. They have access to resources that can be critical to help government agencies to manage disasters successfully.

Methods:

This systematic review was conducted since August 2018 to investigate the role of religious institutions in disasters management and was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed, Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, Proquest, Embase, and Google scholar were the primary databases used for search of literature. Keywords used in this review were “religious institution,” “disaster management,” and their equivalents were obtained from Mesh, Emtree, or extracted from related articles. The papers from a broad range of disciplines related to keywords were included, and those articles that focus on response to disaster based on religious beliefs’ and religion rather than participation of religious institutions in disaster risk management were excluded. From the 18,071 records identified through database searching in the early stage, 22 articles were selected for this review followed by analysis of the characteristics and content analysis of the included studies to answer the study questions.

Results:

The findings of this systematic review that emerged from content analysis are summarized in 11 themes: religious institutions’ potential for disaster management, preparedness of religious institutions for disasters, response, recovery, the social capital, partnership with all stakeholders, collaboration and communication between mental health professionals and faith-based organization leaders, unity of information and message, religious institution shelters, dealing with disaster in old and new approaches, and barriers and challenges.

Conclusions:

Religious institutions have a vital role and great potential in disasters management. They often contribute in response and recovery phases of disasters, although these services are valuable but the great potential of these groups should also be recruited to participate in preparedness and mitigation efforts as part of disasters cycle. Coordination and collaboration of all stakeholders is essential in this way.

Keywords

disasterdisaster managementfaith-based organizationreligious institutionsystematic review
Type
Systematic Review
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , April 2021 , pp. 239 - 254
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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