Better understanding of citizens’ behavioural and psychological reactions in the event of a disaster or crisis situation.

Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following expected outcomes:

• Qualitative and quantitative analyses on the behaviour of diverse society groups affected by a natural and man-made disaster or crisis situation, during and after an even occurs, based on real cases and testimonies, lessons learned from past disasters or crisis and recommendations from citizens and local authorities. Examine how this analysis could be integrated into preparedness plans and processes to include cultural, historical, and ethical perspectives on what defines disasters and how they are responded to.
• Analyses of human behaviour as triggering or cascading factors of disasters or crisis situations, and transformation of qualitative data into quantitative information to improve vulnerability and exposure analyses.
• Development of community-centred (vis-à-vis victim- or patient-centred) approaches and corresponding preparedness plans: in view of limited emergency response capacities and threat of systems collapses (e.g. health system, food distribution, supply chains) in large-scale disaster scenarios, analyse what community practices and communication strategies can help mitigate the latter and enable the public to be a capable partner in emergency planning and response.
• Specific measures to better address the needs and requirements of most vulnerable groups (chronic suffers, persons with disabilities, children, elderly persons, economically and socially deprived persons, refugees and irregular migrants in emergency planning and recovery measures.
• Analyses of the nature and scope of mental health issues of the affected populations and of first-responders arising during and following natural or man-made disasters or crisis situations and their implications for response and recovery, and options to address these issues, including through social and health services such as emergency psycho-social support.
• Analyses of mechanisms and factors that can lead to false alarms and misdirected actions, and of the direct consequences on both population and decision-makers.

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