Supplemental Research Bulletin:

Challenges and Considerations in Disaster Research

Natural and human-caused disasters can provide a distinctive opportunity for behavioral health professionals to study the impact of a traumatic event on a wide and diverse population. The results can be used to address accessibility and inequality in service delivery before, during, and after a disaster. Yet, many researchers encounter specific challenges when undertaking disaster research, including:

Ethical questions surrounding participant recruitment
Emotional distress of participants
Researcher safety and distress
The need for cultural sensitivity
Environmental factors.

This issue reviews existing literature, provides a general summary of challenges experienced by researchers in the field, and offers potential solutions.

The bulletin also lists funding opportunities for emergency response and recovery activities that may provide behavioral health professionals the ability to pursue the improvement of social and psychological services in the aftermath of a disaster or crisis. This issue can be a stepping stone for professionals interested in conducting this type of research or provide additional preparation strategies for researchers already in the field.

Download Challenges and Considerations in Disaster Research [PDF — 300KB]

Read past issues of the Supplemental Research Bulletin.