After the fire: A qualitative study of the role of long-term recovery organizations in addressing rural communities’ post-wildfire needs
U.S. wildfire activity has increased over the past several decades, disrupting the systems and infrastructure that support community health and resilience. As the cumulative burden of wildfire damage is projected to increase, understanding an effective community recovery process is critically import...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research: Health |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/acd2f7 |
| _version_ | 1797698933790605312 |
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| author | Kathleen Moloney Jamie Vickery Jeremy Hess Nicole Errett |
| author_facet | Kathleen Moloney Jamie Vickery Jeremy Hess Nicole Errett |
| author_sort | Kathleen Moloney |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | U.S. wildfire activity has increased over the past several decades, disrupting the systems and infrastructure that support community health and resilience. As the cumulative burden of wildfire damage is projected to increase, understanding an effective community recovery process is critically important. Through qualitative interviews with leaders of long-term recovery organizations (LTROs), a key component of wildfire recovery, we explored barriers and facilitators to LTROs’ ability to support post-wildfire needs among rural communities. Between February-May 2022, we conducted surveys and semi-structured interviews with 18 leaders from six LTROs serving rural communities in Washington, Oregon, and California impacted by wildfires between 2015–2020. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Framework informed the semi-structured interview guide and a priori codebook, to examine LTROs’ ability to address post-wildfire community needs from a health equity perspective. Additional codes were added through an inductive approach, and emerging themes were identified. Our findings indicate that LTROs face many barriers in addressing community needs post-wildfire, including the policies governing access to and the slow arrival of recovery resources, the intertwined nature of community economic health and built environment restoration, and the challenge of forming a functional LTRO structure. However, participants also identified facilitators of LTROs’ work, including the ability of LTROs and their government partners to adapt policies and procedures, and close collaboration with other community organizations. Factors both internal and external to the community and LTROs’ organizational characteristics influence their ability to address community needs, essential to health, post-wildfire. This study’s findings suggest the need for policy improvements to promote more equitable recovery resource access, that economic recovery should be a core LTRO function, and that recovery planning should be incorporated into community disaster preparedness activities. Future research should focus on LTROs’ role in other contexts and in response to other disasters. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:00:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7c71eb6596d243159d2e40266dfa7efa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2752-5309 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:00:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research: Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-7c71eb6596d243159d2e40266dfa7efa2023-09-03T11:34:25ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research: Health2752-53092023-01-011202100910.1088/2752-5309/acd2f7After the fire: A qualitative study of the role of long-term recovery organizations in addressing rural communities’ post-wildfire needsKathleen Moloney0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5902-0434Jamie Vickery1Jeremy Hess2Nicole Errett3Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington , Seattle, WA, United States of AmericaDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington , Seattle, WA, United States of AmericaDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington , Seattle, WA, United States of America; Department of Global Health, School of Public Health, University of Washington , Seattle, WA, United States of America; Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington , Seattle, WA, United States of America; Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE), School of Public Health, University of Washington , Seattle, WA, United States of AmericaDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington , Seattle, WA, United States of America; Department of Health Systems and Population Health, University of Washington , Seattle, WA, United States of AmericaU.S. wildfire activity has increased over the past several decades, disrupting the systems and infrastructure that support community health and resilience. As the cumulative burden of wildfire damage is projected to increase, understanding an effective community recovery process is critically important. Through qualitative interviews with leaders of long-term recovery organizations (LTROs), a key component of wildfire recovery, we explored barriers and facilitators to LTROs’ ability to support post-wildfire needs among rural communities. Between February-May 2022, we conducted surveys and semi-structured interviews with 18 leaders from six LTROs serving rural communities in Washington, Oregon, and California impacted by wildfires between 2015–2020. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Framework informed the semi-structured interview guide and a priori codebook, to examine LTROs’ ability to address post-wildfire community needs from a health equity perspective. Additional codes were added through an inductive approach, and emerging themes were identified. Our findings indicate that LTROs face many barriers in addressing community needs post-wildfire, including the policies governing access to and the slow arrival of recovery resources, the intertwined nature of community economic health and built environment restoration, and the challenge of forming a functional LTRO structure. However, participants also identified facilitators of LTROs’ work, including the ability of LTROs and their government partners to adapt policies and procedures, and close collaboration with other community organizations. Factors both internal and external to the community and LTROs’ organizational characteristics influence their ability to address community needs, essential to health, post-wildfire. This study’s findings suggest the need for policy improvements to promote more equitable recovery resource access, that economic recovery should be a core LTRO function, and that recovery planning should be incorporated into community disaster preparedness activities. Future research should focus on LTROs’ role in other contexts and in response to other disasters.https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/acd2f7wildfirelong-term recoverydisasterhealth equity |
| spellingShingle | Kathleen Moloney Jamie Vickery Jeremy Hess Nicole Errett After the fire: A qualitative study of the role of long-term recovery organizations in addressing rural communities’ post-wildfire needs Environmental Research: Health wildfire long-term recovery disaster health equity |
| title | After the fire: A qualitative study of the role of long-term recovery organizations in addressing rural communities’ post-wildfire needs |
| title_full | After the fire: A qualitative study of the role of long-term recovery organizations in addressing rural communities’ post-wildfire needs |
| title_fullStr | After the fire: A qualitative study of the role of long-term recovery organizations in addressing rural communities’ post-wildfire needs |
| title_full_unstemmed | After the fire: A qualitative study of the role of long-term recovery organizations in addressing rural communities’ post-wildfire needs |
| title_short | After the fire: A qualitative study of the role of long-term recovery organizations in addressing rural communities’ post-wildfire needs |
| title_sort | after the fire a qualitative study of the role of long term recovery organizations in addressing rural communities post wildfire needs |
| topic | wildfire long-term recovery disaster health equity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/acd2f7 |
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