Investigating the Readiness of Red Crescent Society Staff Against Risks in Khorasan Razavi Province

Abstract

 Introduction: Recent experiences with disasters have shown that given that Iran is a natural disaster-waiting country, warnings must be taken seriously and people in different groups should have necessary preparations to deal with the hazards. The readiness of the relief agencies as one of the first responding organizations involved in crises as well as the readiness of their families as an effective parameter in the response of the relief agencies should be given special attention. The purpose of this study was to determine the state of readiness for hazard among staff of the Red Crescent Society of Khorasan Razavi

Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted in 2018. The study population consist of all personnel of the Red Crescent Society of Khorasan Razavi province (n: 146). Sampling was done by census. The level of preparedness was assessed and evaluated by the indicators determined by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education for assessment of the level of household readiness (HDPI) using descriptive statistics.

Results: The results showed that the lowest readiness index (2.75) was observed among the staff of the Relief and Rescue Deputy. The most qualified staff of the Society can be found in the Education Deputy who attained the highest score (5.25) on the index.

Conclusion: Although relief staff are expected to be present at crises immediately and conveniently, the low score in this index, that is, the lack of readiness of staff’s families, was very effective on staff performance and could even reduce their attending the department at crisis.Therefore, special attention should be paid to promoting their readiness Keywords: Readiness, Red Crescent Society, Dangers.