Participatory action research methodology in disaster research: results from the World Trade Center evacuation study.
OBJECTIVE
Participatory action research (PAR) methodology is an effective tool in identifying and implementing risk-reduction interventions. It has been used extensively in occupational health research, but not, to our knowledge, in disaster research. A PAR framework was incorporated into the World Trade Center evacuation study, which was designed to identify the individual, organizational, and structural (environmental) factors that affected evacuation from the World Trade Center Towers 1 and 2 on September 11, 2001. PAR teams-comprising World Trade Center evacuees, study investigators, and expert consultants-worked collaboratively to develop a set of recommendations designed to facilitate evacuation from high-rise office buildings and reduce risk of injury among evacuees.


METHODS
Two PAR teams worked first separately and then collectively to identify data-driven strategies for improvement of high-rise building evacuation.


RESULTS
The teams identified interventions targeting individual, organizational, and structural (environmental) barriers to safe and rapid evacuation.


CONCLUSIONS
PAR teams were effective in identifying numerous feasible and cost-effective strategies for improvement of high-rise emergency preparedness and evacuation. This approach may have utility in other workplace disaster prevention planning and response programs.
Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032, USA. rg405@columbia.edu
Robyn R M
RR
Gershon
Marcie S
MS
Rubin
Kristine A
KA
Qureshi
Allison N
AN
Canton
Frederick J
FJ
Matzner
D003256:Community Participation; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000379:methods*; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D009519:New York City; D018635:Rescue Work / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D047851:September 11 Terrorist Attacks; D017741:Survivors; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000379:methods; D017132:Workplace