Assessing Effectiveness of Volunteers in Disaster Risk Management: A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) Study in Flood-Prone Areas of Bangladesh

Keywords: Flood Risk Reduction, Volunteers, Randomized Controlled Trial, Training, Knowledge and Practices
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

In any emergency or disaster, it is common in Bangladesh that community people will come forward as the first responders. But due to limited knowledge and skills related to response activities the communities can not utilize their full capacity. An institutionalized and trained volunteer group within a disaster-prone community can reduce this limitation. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of volunteers in flood risk reduction and management. The study used Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) model to conduct an experiment and identify the potentialities of volunteer groups. The study randomly selected 15 members for the experimental group and 15 members for the control group. The experimental group received training as part of the interventions. On the other hand, the control didn’t receive any intervention. A similar type of flood drill was conducted several times to assess the actions of the groups and finalize the results. The study results showed the experimental group who received intervention through the study was more effective and capable to manage a flood than the control group. The experimental group successfully implemented their knowledge and skills from the training to manage the flood. Besides the control group wasn’t able to complete a similar level of activities. It can be summarized that trained and skilled volunteers can be a great resource for developing and disaster-prone countries like Bangladesh which don’t have enough resources to support all vulnerable communities at once during an emergency.