What are the best strategies for emergency preparedness and emergency information dissemination among resettled refugees?

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Evidence Summary
May 2020

The evidence in this area is suggestive. Within these suggestive studies, there is broad consensus on four key points related to emergency preparedness and emergency information dissemination among resettled refugees:

Pre-existing partnerships among refugee communities, community-based organizations (CBOs), and local emergency planners are vital.
People who serve as social bridges between refugee communities and governmental and community-based organizations are important conduits for emergency information dissemination.
Emergency messaging must be simple and consistent,delivered in refugees’ native languages and made available through multiple communication channels.
Refugees may meet disasters with resiliency.

Given the ethical and logistical challenges of conducting impact evaluation studies in disasters, the recommendations of these suggestive studies should be viewed as best practices at this time.

Websites and Databases	Population Terms	Methodology Terms	Target Problem Terms
Campbell Collaboration Cochrane Collaboration Mathematica Policy Research Evidence Aid Urban Institute Migration Policy Institute HHS OPRE Medline ASSIA Social Services Abstracts Social Work Abstracts ReliefWeb ALNAP	refugee OR immigrant OR “unaccompanied minor” OR asylee OR “temporary protected status” OR “victims of traffick” OR “traffickvictims” OR T-Visa OR U-Visa OR Cuban OR Haitian OR Amerasian	evaluation OR impact OR program OR intervention OR policy OR Project OR train* OR therapy OR treatment OR counseling OR workshop OR review OR meta-analysis OR synthesis	“disaster prepared” OR “emergency prepared” OR pandemic

Relevant Study	Type of Study	Strength of Evidence	Direction of Evidence
Emergency Preparedness: Knowledge and Perceptions of Latin American Immigrants	Suggestive evidence	Suggestive	No evidence about impact
Promoting Community Preparedness and Resilience: A Latino Immigrant Community-Driven Project Following Hurricane Sandy	Suggestive evidence	Suggestive	Positive impact
Developing a Disaster Preparedness Campaign Targeting Low-Income Latino Immigrants: Focus Group Results for Project PREP	Suggestive evidence	Suggestive	No evidence about impact
Medical Interpreters and Bilingual School Staff: Potential Disaster Information Conduits?	Suggestive evidence	Suggestive	No evidence about impact
Integrating Immigrant Families in Emergency Response, Relief, and Rebuilding Efforts	Suggestive evidence	Suggestive	Positive impact
Responding to a Mumps Outbreak Impacting Immigrants and Low-English-Proficiency Populations	Suggestive evidence	Suggestive	Positive impact
Global Learning Experiences During a Domestic Community Health Clinical	Suggestive evidence	Suggestive	No evidence about impact
The Canterbury Earthquakes and Refugee Communities	Suggestive evidence	Suggestive	No evidence about impact
Young People from Refugee Backgrounds as a Resource for Disaster Risk Reduction	Suggestive evidence	Suggestive	No evidence about impact
Filling the Gaps: Inequitable Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief Policies Serving Immigrant and Refugee Communities	Suggestive evidence	Suggestive	No evidence about impact
Stigma, Health Disparities, and the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic: How to Protect Latino Farmworkers in Future Health Emergencies	Suggestive evidence	Suggestive	No evidence about impact
Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Among Immigrants and Refugees	Suggestive evidence	Suggestive	No evidence about impact
Best Practice Guidelines Engaging with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Communities in Times of Disaster	Suggestive evidence	Suggestive	No evidence about impact
A Bosnian Refugee Community’s Hidden Capacity in Preparation for a Natural Disaster in the United States	Suggestive evidence	Suggestive	No evidence about impact

What are the best strategies for emergency preparedness and emergency information dissemination among resettled refugees?

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