Civilian Sheltering Guidelines for Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas: A Scoping Review.

Area of Science:

• Humanitarian action
• Public health
• Conflict studies

Background:

• Explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) disproportionately harm civilians.
• Humanitarian organizations use varied sheltering guidelines for explosive threats.
• The standardization and evidence base of these guidelines are unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify existing civilian sheltering guidelines for explosive events.
• Assess the literature for evidence supporting these guidelines.
• Identify knowledge gaps in civilian protection during explosive events.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review of indexed databases and grey literature was performed.
• Followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) methodology.
• Included reports on civilian sheltering during explosive events.

Main Results:

• Identified 3582 records, with 2 peer-reviewed and 13 grey literature reports meeting criteria.
• Peer-reviewed reports focused on mines/unexploded ordnance, not EWIPA or aerial bombardments.
• Significant knowledge gaps and heterogeneity exist in current sheltering guidelines for EWIPA.

Conclusions:

• Demonstrates a critical need for evidence-based civilian sheltering guidelines.
• Highlights the necessity for standardization of these guidelines.
• Aims to mitigate the threat of explosive weapons to civilians in conflict.