Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Abstract The biotechnology revolution and the emergence of new ways to change the genetic material of an
organism have led to an increased risk of biological wars. Coping strategies against these threats
is very important to improve the health of people. Therefore, due to the importance of this issue,
this study is aimed to review the scope of using biotechnology and genetic engineering in wars and
coping strategies in all over the world. In this review study, database includes of PubMed, Web of
Science, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Science Direct were searched. The search was limited to
reviewed articles in English published between 1990 and 2020. The primary search results generated
148 relevant references. After eliminating the duplicates and articles which were not related to
the review of the abstract, 11 references were identified for inclusion in this review. Based on the
results of these studies, the advances in genetic engineering can lead to the development of new
weapons for other types of conflict and war scenarios, secret operations, and sabotage activities.
Rapid developments in biotechnology and genetics have created environmental, ethical, political,
and social challenges for many communities. Increasing awareness and sensitivity, monitoring, and
building capacity for effective coping are essential. Biotechnology areas that will probably significantly
contribute to countering biological weapons include recognizing the human genome, strengthening
the immune system, identifying bacteria and viruses’ genome, equipment for biological identification,
new vaccines, new antibiotics, and anti‑viral drugs must be monitored.

Abstract Disasters and emergencies have been increasing all over the world. Todays, with technological
advancement, acquiring knowledge and its application in the realm of action is regarded as the only
effective way for prevent disasters or reducing its effects. The present study aimed to review the
importance of education and the effect of different methods of education on disaster risk reduction
and preparedness in vulnerable people. To this aim, some articles indexed in Database of PubMed,
Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct, and ProQuest were searched. The
search was limited to reviewed articles in English published between 1990 and 2017. In addition, the
selected articles were reviewed for relevant citations. The conducted studies were reviewed by two
researchers independently. The primary search generated 128 relevant references. After eliminating
the duplicates and articles which were not related to the review of the abstract, 41 references were
identified for inclusion. After reviewing more, 31 references, which failed to meet inclusion index,
were excluded from the study. Disaster education aims to provide knowledge among individuals
and groups to take actions to reduce their vulnerability to disasters. During the last decades, the
issue that trained people can be prepared for disasters and responding well has been extensively
investigated. Based on the results, disaster education is a functional, operational, and cost‑effective
tool for risk management. Based on some evidence, it is important for vulnerable people to learn
about disasters. There are different methods to educate vulnerable people, but no method is better
than others. Trained people can better protect themselves and others. In this regard, planning and
designing comprehensive educational programs are necessary for people to face disasters.