Authors

1 Health in Emergency and Disaster Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran, Department of Nursing and Emergency, Dezful University of Medical Sciences, Dezful, Iran,

2 Health in Emergency and Disaster Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

4 Department of Occupational Therapy, Social Determinants of Health Research Centre, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

5 Department of Pediatrics, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

6 Shefa Neuroscience Research Center, Khatamol Anbia Hospital. Tehran, Iran

7 Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden Health in Emergency and Disaster Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran,

Abstract

Nowadays, disaster databases have become a valuable tool for disaster risk management and
health promotion and serve various purposes. The purpose of this study is to provide a systematic
review of disaster databases in the world and to identify the objectives, information sources, criteria,
and variables of disaster data registration in the world’s reputable databases. To conduct review,
all English‑language articles published without a time limit until the end of September 2020 were
extracted from the databases of Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Science
Direct, Google Scholar, and Embase. Necessary information in the papers including study time, type
of disasters, related databases, dimensions and indicators of global and regional databases were
extracted by using a researcher‑made questionnaire. A total of 22 studies have been reviewed to
identify the dimensions and indicators of disaster databases worldwide. The main focus was on global
and regional databases, mostly used at the level of scientific societies and disaster experts. After
explanation, researchers highlighted each of the disaster databases, along with the main differences
available among the existing databases. Some databases have well‑defined data collection methods.
Their knowledge is high quality and they can be used to create and improve a disaster database at
other levels. Disaster database limitations include risk bias, time bias, accounting bias, threshold
bias, and geographical bias. To support the right decisions to reduce disaster risk, it is necessary
to complement existing global, regional, and national databases. Countries need to take action to
set up national databases.

Keywords

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