What Is the Purpose of This Study? • Partnering with a vulnerable, at-risk community to conduct a vulnerability and capability assessment, gap analysis, and strategy development utilizing PhotoVoice and the core principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR) with a goal of strengthening community capacity to respond to tsunami. What Is the Problem? • Growing population densities, deforestation, and the degradation of natural buffers have contributed significantly to the increased risk of damage from natural disaster. • Communities may be isolated and on their own for days or weeks after a natural disaster. For example, after a natural disaster in Japan, one community was isolated for 12 days before help arrived. • Traditional disaster preparedness and mitigation approaches often are “top down” and fail to consider the specific needs, resources, and capacities of a community. • Community members are increasingly frustrated and disenfranchised by being excluded from planning and decision making in disaster preparedness and mitigation. • Using CBPR can help communities to increase awareness and skills in disaster preparedness and mitigation, but literature in this area is limited. • PhotoVoice, a CBPR tool, has been used successfully to assist communities in conducting contextually appropriate assessments, but its use in disaster reduction and preparedness is still very limited. What Are the Findings? • PhotoVoice was found to be a successful CBPR process to assist a vulnerable community to develop contextually appropriate disaster-reduction strategies for a future tsunami. • Forty-two vulnerabilities and 50 capabilities within the community were identified and then categorized through photo presentations and discussion sessions. • The photographs and reflective data provided individual residents and the community with greater insight into their vulnerabilities, capabilities, and gaps, and offered participating outsiders a unique opportunity to see the community through local eyes. • Thirteen gaps were identified and discussed, yielding 16 feasible strategies to reduce the community’s vulnerability to tsunami. • The community strengthened its capacity to reduce vulnerability and respond to a tsunami and to replicate the use of PhotoVoice in planning for other disasters. Who Should Care Most? • Residents of communities vulnerable to natural disasters. • Community leaders within those vulnerable communities. • County, state, and federal government officials. Recommendations for Action • Consider using PhotoVoice as a community-based participatory approach to increase individual and community awareness of their gaps and capabilities related to disaster and to develop contextually appropriate strategies to increase response and resilience. • Integrate external disaster-specific subject matter experts into the PhotoVoice sessions to share best practices. • Provide funding for the implementation of the disaster reduction strategies developed. • Consider evaluating the disaster-reduction strategies through a community-led disaster exercise. Copyright © 2015 The Johns Hopkins University Press
Language: en
%G en %I Johns Hopkins University Press %@ 1557-0541 %U http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/cpr.2015.0005