Profiles and motivations of disaster volunteers: a proposed framework in the brazilian context
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Environmental disasters have caused various human, ecological, and economic damage worldwide. In some developing countries (e.g., Brazil), factors such as the absence of disaster prevention policies and corruption aggravate this scenario even more. In this context, in order to reduce the potential damage and save lives in the short term, volunteers emerge; these people are individually involved in voluntary action and work as support in disaster situations. Nonetheless, these volunteers do not compose a single unified group: they are people with different backgrounds, occupations, and motivations. Therefore, this study sought to analyze the profiles of disaster volunteers in Brazil based on their motivations. To this end, this study adopted a qualitative approach with 16 semi-structured in-depth interviews for data collection. The results identified the volunteers’ motivations to act in disasters as being knowledge, values, enhancement, protective, social, and readiness, and the behavior profiles determined from their motivations as expert, sensitive, altruistic, beginner, and social. Based on these results, a Disaster Volunteer Framework in Brazil was developed that serves as a basis for developing public policies for the government and assists institutions that work in disaster management in attracting new volunteers.
Source: Revista de Administração da UFSM
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4403176285