Vulnerabilities of people with different types  of disabilities in disasters: a rapid evidence  review and qualitative research

Abstract

Despite the growth of disaster scholarship, the topic of how  and why climate-related disasters and extreme weather  events vary among people with different types of disabilities remains unexplored. To help fill the gap, this study  draws on a larger research project that was co-designed by  Water Sensitive Cities Australia at Monash University and  the Hanoi Association of People with Disabilities, Vietnam.  It utilised the dataset of a rapid evidence review of 33 studies, key informant interviews with 26 local stakeholders,  and 52 interviews with people with various disabilities in  Hanoi and Nghe An province, Vietnam. Using thematic  analysis, we identified eight themes pertaining to sociallyconstructed difficulties facing people with disabilities: barriers to accessing disaster risk information and warnings;  difficulties in understanding emergencies; challenges in  communicating needs; evacuation and mobility hurdles;  decreased sense of belonging and isolation; increased risk  of getting sick; increased risk of developing mental health  and behavioural disorders; and disrupted livelihood and loss  of income.

Keywords: People with disabilities, Vulnerability, Disaster, Climate change, Extreme weather events. Ethical Statements and Declarations, thematic analysis, rapid evidence review