Fugate
First Name
James
Middle Initial
R
Last Name
Fugate
Department
Engineering Studies
Scholarship Year
2025
Research Center
Non-Center Based
Scholarship Type
Journal Paper
Contributors List
Brian Tomaszewski, Iskender Mambetkadyrov, James Fugate, Jason Rotoli, Qing Miao, Sandra Rothenberg
Project Title
Disability inclusion in local emergency management
Start Date - Month
October
Start Date - Year
2024
End Date Anticipated - Month
September
End Date Anticipated - Year
2025
End Date Actual - Month
September
End Date Actual - Year
2025
Review Types
Blind Peer Reviewed
Student Assistance
Graduate
Projected Cost
$0.00
Funding Source
Grant
Resulting Product
Journal article
Citation

Mambetkadyrov, Iskender, et al. "Disability Inclusion in Local Emergency Management: Evidence from a National Survey of Emergency Managers." International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 130. 105808 (2025): web based. Web. *

Abstract

Local emergency management agencies (EMAs) are on the front line of providing essential services to protect their communities from disasters, yet their efforts often fall short in addressing the needs of populations with disabilities (PWD). Based on a nationwide survey of county government emergency managers, this paper examines organizational practices adopted by local EMAs to advance disability inclusion, identifies barriers to their implementation, and explores whether broader disability-inclusive actions correlate with enhanced deaf/hard of hearing (DHH)-specific services. We find that local EMAs report more commonly engaging in inclusion practices for PWD that align with existing planning and collaboration practices such as incorporating disability considerations into emergency planning and assessments, while other practices are largely not implemented, in part because of financial and staffing limitations. We also find that these disability-inclusive actions taken by local EMAs are strongly positively correlated with increased variety and accessibility of DHH services. Many of these DHH services focus on communication, of which there was reliance on a few common practices such as using written language. Given the range of communication needs and preferences in the DHH community, these practices may not meet the needs of some DHH persons. These findings highlight the need for targeted strategies to advance disability inclusion and enhance emergency management outcomes for PWD, particularly DHH populations.

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