The Power of Radio to Promote Health and Resilience in Natural Disasters: A Review

Karin Hugelius, Mike Adams and Eila Romo-Murphy
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Karin Hugelius: School of Health Sciences, Örebro University, 70182 Örebro, Sweden
Mike Adams: First Response Radio, Frome BA11 2SX, UK
Eila Romo-Murphy: Health Communication Resources (UK), Worthing BN13 1AA, UK

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 14, 1-11

Abstract: Humanitarian radio has been used in humanitarian aid efforts and after natural disasters over the last 15 years. However, the effects have barely been evaluated, and there are few scientific reports on the impact of radio as a disaster health response intervention. Therefore, this study aimed to provide an overview of the use and impact of humanitarian radio in natural disasters from a health perspective. A literature review of 13 scientific papers and grey literature resources was conducted. The results show that humanitarian radio could be used to promote both physical and psychosocial wellbeing by providing health-related information, advice and psychosocial support in natural disasters. Community resilience can be enhanced by the promotion of community engagement and can strengthen self-efficacy and community efficacy. Radio also has the potential to cost-effectively reach a large number of affected people in areas with severely damaged infrastructure. Radio could, therefore, contribute to health recovery and wellbeing from both individual and community perspectives. As such, health professionals; crises communication professionals, including radio journalists; and disaster-managing stakeholders should be prepared and trained to use humanitarian radio as an integrated part of the disaster health response in natural disasters.

Keywords: community resilience; crises communication; disaster; disaster response; humanitarian radio; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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