Vulnerability of elderly people in disasters: A systematic review

Introduction: Disasters significantly affect the physical, emotional, and psychological health of individuals and result in high numbers of deaths, injuries, and economic losses. Elderly people are among the groups most vulnerable to the negative impacts of disasters. In this direction, this systematic review aims to provide an overview of relevant studies on the vulnerability of elderly populations during disasters. Materials and Method: A literature search was conducted from 2000 to 2017 using MEDLINE, Pub Med, Science direct, and Scopus and Cochrane libraries. This review was conducted in September 2017, and the keywords included “older adults”, “elderly”, “disasters”, “vulnerable groups.” In total, 29 research articles composed the main sample of the study. Results: Several studies have found that older adults are vulnerable in disasters. The results of these studies were examined and are presented according to the physical effects, psychosocial effects, relocation trauma, and ethical aspects as the main themes.x Conclusion: In countries with rapidly aging populations, a large number of vulnerable elderly people require assistance in the event of a disaster. Many studies have reported that the health of these vulnerable populations is frequently worsened by disasters, to the point of a higher incident of fatal consequences. Therefore, disaster planning needs to include strategies for attending to care-giving needs, unique psychosocial needs, relocation trauma, medications, and medical needs of this population.