Facilitating the voices of people with disabilities in disaster research: a case study of participatory timeline methodologies in Sindhupalchok Nepal
Abstract
Purpose
There has been increasing advocacy for the inclusion of people with disabilities in disaster research and practice yet there are limited empirical examples that give voice to people with disabilities and their expereinces by consulting them directly. Conceptulising new methods that frame the role of people with disabilties as co-producers are essential for improving the representation of people with disabilties in the context of disaster research and beyond. The paper discusses how to facilitate disability inclusive research and introduces a participatory timeline tool that was co-produced by people with physical disabilities in Sindhupalchok, Nepal.
Design/methodology/approach
The participatory timeline activity utilised 3D printed counters to explore the experiences of people with disabilities during disaster events and their recovery processes, in this case, the 2015 Ghorka earthquake and the 2021 Melamchi Flood. The paper reflects on how to foster disability-inclusive environments by placing agency and ownership by people with disabilities at the centre of research practice.
Findings
This approach created an atmosphere of collaboration and supported co-researchers to reveal their experiences and knowledge on their own terms. The counter tool introduced could be adapted for different research inquiries and used alongside other methods which seek to facilitate the voices of people with disabilities.
Originality/value
The research paper adds to the limited body of litreature on how to conduct participatory research with people with disabilities in disaster contexts and more widely within Majority world contexts.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The research reported on in this paper was made possible through the “Tomorrow’s Cities Multi-Hazard Urban Risk Transitions Hub” funded by the UK Research and Innovation Global Challenges Research Fund. This research is the product of a significant number of local experts and community members resident of Sindhupalchok who shared their time and knowledge to co-produce this research. We would like to give special thanks to Dr Dharam Uprety for his unwavering support throughout the research project as well as Dipendra Sharma, Minesh Gurung, Prahlad Chalise and Somsir. The quality of the data, research design and success of the project is a credit to the fieldwork team Yojanna Malakar and Dil Raj Rai and their excellent research skills, knowledge and passion for the research.
Citation
Ewen, A. and Pelling, M. (2024), "Facilitating the voices of people with disabilities in disaster research: a case study of participatory timeline methodologies in Sindhupalchok Nepal", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-01-2024-0036
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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