Women and health consequences of natural disasters: Challenge or opportunity?

Abstract

Disasters do not affect people equally; the impact of disasters on the lives of women is different from other groups of a community. Women's fundamental rights to health and safety are violated after disasters. The authors of this study aimed to explore various factors of women's health with reference to previous natural disasters in Iran. A qualitative approach using in-depth unstructured interviews and field observations was employed to explore women's health factors in the affected regions. A total of 22 participants affected by disasters, as well as key informants, were interviewed applying the purposeful sampling method. Data were collected in 2014 in three provinces, including East Azerbaijan, Bushehr, and Mazandaran. A content analysis using the Graneheim approach was performed for analyzing the transcribed interviews. Two themes and four categories were extracted from the data. The themes that emerged included psycho-physical effects and women's health status. Physical and psycho-emotional effects and reproductive and environmental health effects were the four emergent categories. The findings implied that managing women's health challenges may result in reducing the distressing effects of disaster. These findings support identification and application of the mechanisms by which women's well-being in physical, mental, reproductive, and environmental aspects can be protected after disasters.

Cervical cancer screening rates before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake in the Miyagi Prefecture, Japan

“…In addition, the clinical stage of cervical cancer at diagnosis was significantly higher after the hurricane than before the hurricane [14]. Women's health hazards such as abnormal menstrual cycles, pelvic inflammation, and lower genital tract infections after disasters also have been reported in various countries [15][16][17][18][19]. Although the failure of health management is considered to lead to long-term health risks, the cervical cancer screening rate (CCS-R) after a disaster remains unexamined.…”

Post-disaster Psychosocial Capacity Building for Women in a Chinese Rural Village

“…All of these variables affect one's ability to anticipate, cope with, and recover from a disaster (Wisner et al 2004;Gil-Rivas and Kilmer 2016). Among survivors, women have been identified as one of the most vulnerable groups during and after disasters, due to their physical vulnerability and disadvantaged position in many societies (Aryal 2014;Baker and Cormier 2014;Sohrabizadeh et al 2016). In addition to dealing with the consequences of the event itself, they are usually further burdened or weakened after a disaster, as women are expected to carry out normal domestic tasks despite the more challenging and complex post-disaster environment (Twigg 2004).…”

Nongovernmental organizations coordination models in natural hazards: A systematic review

“…With the increase in the number of people injured in disasters[1] as a result of the increased incidence and consequences of disasters in recent years,[2] nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have had a remarkable cooperation with governmental organizations and agencies to provide humanitarian services in natural hazards. Currently, NGOs work independently or cooperate with other organizations and have a significant role in providing relief and reconstruction services.…”