Exploring Mobility Impairments in Aotearoa's Disaster Management: How Do People with Mobility Impairments Experience the 4Rs of Disaster Management?

Natural hazards can be disruptive and devastating, causing widespread damage to infrastructure, displacing communities, and posing significant threats to human lives and the environment. Natural hazards can exacerbate vulnerabilities for people who have restricted mobility. This research investigates reduction, readiness, response, and recovery, also known as the 4Rs, a framework used to guide Aotearoa New Zealand’s disaster management. Each of these Rs requires mobility to engage and be safe in a disaster context. The present research focused on understanding how people with mobility impairments (MI) engage with and experience the 4Rs of disaster management. Eight people who self-identified as having mobility impairments were interviewed in person and online using semi-structured interviews. Participants (five female, two male, and one gender diverse) came from Hawkes Bay, New Plymouth, and Auckland, ranging between the ages of 20 to 80. The study adopted an interpretive epistemology with a phenomenological theoretical approach. Transcripts of these interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Themes related to reduction included having agency to make one’s home safe and being aware of the environmental context. Themes related to readiness included the impact mobility impairment can have on being ready, two key ways to be ready and having stability when planning. Themes related to response included adaptability under pressure, reliance on external support, and the impact of situational factors for successful response. Themes related to recovery included having accessible communication and maintaining good health. Findings suggest that people with mobility impairments have diverse experiences across each of the Rs, which are related to the specificity of their mobility impairment and the resources around them. The study's conclusions outline the interdependent nature of the 4Rs, where each R influences the other, being determined by access to resources, external support and environments that favour abled-bodied people. Reconsidering these interconnections is essential for understanding the challenges related to and tailoring future disaster management strategies that promote equitable engagement across all 4Rs for people with mobility impairments.