Factors behind the prepositioning of relief items in Iran: A qualitative study

Disaster management necessitates quick and effective response. The success of response largely depends on humanitarian logistics. A key component of humanitarian logistics is the prepositioning of relief items. The aim of this study was to explore factors behind the prepositioning of relief items.

This qualitative study was conducted in Iran. Study participants were twenty relief and rescue managers, researchers, and staff. In total, twenty face-to-face interviews were conducted for data collection. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed through conventional content analysis.

Factors behind the prepositioning of relief items were categorised into the following five main categories: sociopolitical factors (with the two subcategories of factors related to the political system and factors related to the society); resource management (with the three subcategories of human resources, financial resources, and physical resources); protocols, regulations, and agreements (with the two subcategories of development of protocols, regulations, and agreements and application of protocols, regulations, and agreements); risk assessment (with the two subcategories of identification of potential hazards in different areas of the country and assessment of the vulnerability of different areas of the country); and prediction, supply, and storage (with the two subcategories of prediction of necessary relief items and supply and storage of relief items).

A wide range of personal, managerial, professional, structural, environmental, and sociopolitical factors can affect the prepositioning of relief items. Lack of thorough risk assessment studies is the most important factor. Therefore, well-designed risk assessment studies are needed to determine the type and the amount of the relief items which should be prepositioned in each area. It is also required to determine the best time and site for their prepositioning. Developing measurement tools is also recommended to measure prepositioning-related needs of each area.