Elderly’s Perception of the Concept of Preparedness for Disasters and Accidents: A Qualitative Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, Health Human Resources Research Center, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

2 Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

3 English Department, Faculty of Paramedical Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

4 MSc Student in Gerontology, School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health (Tehran Psychiatric Institute), Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

10.30476/jhmi.2026.110557.1357

Abstract

Introduction: Accidents and disasters are among the major public health challenges, and the elderly are especially vulnerable to their consequences due to their reduced physical and mental capabilities. With the growing elderly population in Iran and worldwide, identifying the factors that affect accidents in this population seems essential. However, there is a lack of in-depth qualitative studies that explore the subjective perception of preparedness among the elderly, particularly in the Iranian context. Therefore, this study was conducted to gain a comprehensive understanding of how elderly individuals perceive their own preparedness for accidents and disasters.
Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using content analysis in Fars province in 2025. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were used, and 15 elderly people over 65 years of age were selected from health centers, nursing homes, and elderly care centers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and then analyzed using Graneheim & Lundman's method. The analysis process involved carefully reading transcripts, extracting meaning units, condensing, coding, and forming categories.
Results: The results indicated that the elderly's perception of preparedness was influenced by factors including continuous education (with subthemes of lack of trained personnel, family training, and lifelong learning), mental health (psychological and social support, resilience, acceptance), scene management (warning systems, incident command, information sources), injury prevention strategies (crowd control, safe infrastructure, shelter), cultural challenges in disaster response (formerly "presence of immigrants"), and increased fear and panic (exacerbated by rumors). At least two to three supporting quotations per theme were provided in the full results section.
Conclusion: According to the results, the elderly considered several factors that influenced their preparedness. Continuous training and psychological support are effective in reducing vulnerability, but a lack of educational resources and weak warning systems were identified as the main obstacles. This study contributes a novel, context-specific understanding of how cultural and social factors (e.g., immigrant-related challenges and rumor-induced panic) uniquely shape the Iranian elderly's preparedness perceptions, which has not been adequately addressed in prior quantitative or qualitative studies in Iran

Highlights

Milad Ahmadi Marzaleh: Google Scholar

Fatemeh Nematollahi: Google Scholar

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. Dianati M, Lotfi M. Study of the home-related traumas in patients referred to the emergency treatment centers of Kashan, 2010-2012. Iran J Epidemiol. 2015;11(2):37-45.
  2. Sheikhi-Darani M, Zamani-Alavijeh F, Eslami AA, Heidari Z, Rahimi M. Assessment of the trends of accidents among elderly people in Isfahan Province, Iran, in 2012-2015 by cause and location of the accidents. J Health Syst Res. 2021;16(4):219-27.
  3. Pesiridis T, Sourtzi P, Galanis P, Kalokairinou A. Development, implementation and evaluation of a disaster training programme for nurses: a switching replications randomized controlled trial. Nurse Educ Pract. 2015;15(1):63-7.
  4. Sahebzadeh M, Gherekhloo AH, Atighechian G. The effect of educational intervention on health care providers' preparedness in the natural disasters: a case study of health care providers in Shahreza City, Iran. Health Emerg Disasters Q. 2020;6(1):39-46.
  5. Ghanbari V, Maddah S, Khankeh H, Karimloo M. The effect of a disaster nursing education program on nurses' preparedness for responding to probable natural disasters. Iran J Nurs. 2011;24(73):72-80.
  6. Mirzaie M, Darabi S. Population aging in Iran and rising health care costs. Salmand. 2017;12(2):156-69.
  7. World Health Organization. Diabetes [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2025 [cited 2025 Sep 13]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes.
  8. Parandin S. The effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy on resilience and perceived stress in older residents of nursing homes. Aging Psychol. 2024;9(4):419-36.
  9. Razeghi Haghighi F, Enjezab B. Lifestyle strategies in middle age to prevent cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: a narrative review. J Caspian Health Aging. 2024;9(2):6-21.
  10. Estebsari F, Dastoorpoor M, Khalifehkandi ZR, Nouri A, Mostafaei D, Hosseini M, et al. The concept of successful aging: a review article. Curr Aging Sci. 2020;13(1):4-10.
  11. Soltani Nejad A, Barshan A, Baniasad A, Soltani Nejad A, Sam A, Sadie A. Investigating social vulnerability of the elderly in the earthquakes of Bam, Varzaghan, and Ahar. Salmand. 2017;12(3):360-71.
  12. Taherian N, Abolghasemi J, Jamshidi Manesh M, Dehdari T. Beliefs in terms of the benefits and barriers of participating in adult day care centers in Tehran in 2022. J Gerontol. 2023;8(2):19-30.
  13. Monteiro-Junior RS, Carneiro LSF, Barca ML, Kristiansen KM, Sampaio CA, Haikal DS, et al. COVID-19 pandemic: a multinational report providing professional experiences in the management of mental health of elderly. Int Psychogeriatr. 2020;32(10):1153-6.
  14. Sherwood R, Bismark M. The ageing surgeon: a qualitative study of expert opinions on assuring performance and supporting safe career transitions among older surgeons. BMJ Qual Saf. 2020;29(2):113-21.
  15. Serafini G, Bondi E, Locatelli C, Amore M. Aged patients with mental disorders in the COVID-19 era: the experience of Northern Italy. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2020;28(7):794-5.
  16. Bieliauskas LA, Langenecker S, Graver C, Lee HJ, O'Neill J, Greenfield LJ. Cognitive changes and retirement among senior surgeons (CCRASS): results from the CCRASS Study. J Am Coll Surg. 2008;207(1):69-78.
  17. Schwandt T, Lincoln Y, Guba E. Judging interpretations: but is it rigorous? Trustworthiness and authenticity in naturalistic evaluation. New Dir Eval. 2007;2007(114):11-25.
  18. Ghafouri R, Ofoghi S. Trustworthiness and rigor in qualitative research. Int J Adv Biotechnol Res. 2016;7(4):1914-22.
  19. Marks R. Frailty, frailty progression, falls fears and injuries among the elderly: possible protective role of a stepped stage theory approach to active Tai Chi therapy adoption. Int J Complement Intern Med. 2026;7(1):523-34.
  20. Jafarian Amiri S, Zabihi A, Aziznejad Roshan P, Hosseini S, Bijani A. Fall at home and its related factors among the elderly in Babol City, Iran. J Babol Univ Med Sci. 2013;15(5):95-101.
  21. Monteiro-Junior RS, Carneiro LSF, Barca ML, Kristiansen KM, Sampaio CA, Haikal DS, et al. COVID-19 pandemic: a multinational report providing professional experiences in the management of mental health of the elderly. Int Psychogeriatr. 2020;32(10):1153-6.
Health Management & Information Science
Volume 13, Issue 3
July 2026
Pages 210-220

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics