Inclusiveness of disaster management for persons with disabilities in Türkiye from stakeholders' perspective

The impact of disasters on persons with disabilities is not equivalent to that experienced by the general population. The inclusiveness of disaster management processes to all stakeholders, including persons with disabilities, is essential for disaster resilience. This study focuses on the challenges faced by people with disabilities in disaster management processes from the perspective of stakeholders involved in disaster management and the facilitating factors for the inclusiveness of the disaster management process for persons with disabilities. Transcendental phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. The data were collected using a semi-structured interview form. In the study, nineteen (19) stakeholders with disaster experience who have different roles and responsibilities in disaster management were interviewed and the transcriptions were coded by experts. As a result of the study, three themes were created: the challenges faced by people with disabilities, the challenges faced by disaster response personnel, and the facilitating factors for the inclusiveness of disaster management. Within the framework of the experiences of the stakeholders, this study revealed that individuals with disabilities are in a more disadvantaged position in disaster management compared to other individuals. Therefore, to increase the resilience of persons with disabilities against disasters, the necessity of including them in disaster management processes, increasing the inclusiveness of plans in institutions, eliminating the lack of qualified personnel and equipment, and good governance are emphasized.