title: Characteristics of an Effective International Humanitarian Assistance: A Systematic Review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of this study is to identify the effectiveness characteristics, review the definition of them, and develop a conceptual mapping of existing domains in the field of International Humanitarian Assistance (IHA).
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a systematic review and searched the major databases (Science Direct, Scopus, Springer and Pubmed) and grey literature, including references of potentially eligible articles and conference proceedings through March 2015. Articles were included if they focused on IHA effectiveness. Reviewers independently identified the eligible studies and extracted data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  10 studies were included and 48 characteristics were identified. There is a lack of scientific studies and agreement on the characteristics of IHA effectiveness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study could be the step toward an understanding of IHA effectiveness characteristics and its definitions with the findings making a base line for more research in this area.
authors.affiliation: Department of Disaster Public Health, School of public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Disaster and Emergency Health, National Institute of Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shandiz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moslehi
authors.affiliation: Disaster and Emergency Health Academy, National Institute of Health Research, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ardalan
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Management and Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Waugh
authors.affiliation: Department of Political Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Tirone
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Care Management, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akbarisari
keywords: effectiveness; humanitarian aid; humanitarian assistance; relief