Recovery is a part of disaster management cycle during which repair and reconstruction takes place, and individuals, groups, and communities retake what they have lost and ideally the risk of future incidents reduces. Life recovery is a subjective and multidimensional issue influenced by various factors, whereas valid measurable indicators in evaluating the recovery after disasters are helpful. This article considers the related texts with the aim of reviewing the indicators of recovery after disasters. The examined issues are basics of recovery, recovery in the form of process, as well as components and dimensions of recovery.

Background: To reduce traffic injuries in the country, health professionals should have accurate estimates of road traffic deaths. Multiple and sometimes inconsistent statistics presented by organizations in charge create high degree of uncertainty for planners and decision makers. To achieve an accurate estimate, several methods are available. Of them, capture-recapture
method seems to be an appropriate and affordable method regarding the reliability of the data sources. This study aimed to estimate the number of road traffic deaths in Kurdistan Province during 2004-2009, using capture-recapture method and based on 2 sources of data obtained from Death Registration System and Forensic Medicine Department.
Materials and Methods: All deaths due to road traffic accidents in Kurdistan Province were extracted during 2004-2009. These deaths were legally registered in Death Registration System and Forensic Medicine Department. Shared cases among these 2 sources were identified based on full name, age, gender, and date of death and finally the accurate number of deaths was
calculated using the correct volume formula.
Results: During study period, Forensic Medicine Department of the province had registered about 3289 cases of road traffic mortalities and Death Registration System had registered 3771 cases of death resulting from road traffic accidents. Using capture-recapture method, the number of deaths in the same years was estimated as 5726 people (5818-5634:CI95%). The
proportion of mortality registered in the Death Registration System and Forensic Medicine Department of the province to the total estimated deaths were 65.8% and 57.4%, respectively and both systems together covered 85.4% of road traffic deaths, i.e. under-reporting of about 832 people.
Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that none of 2 sources of Forensic Medicine Department and Death Registration System, per se or both, fully covered road traffic mortalities and using capture-recapture method can help estimate the actual number of deaths.

Background: Traffic accidents are the main cause of death and disability in the world and Iran. The Injuries caused by traffic accidents may result in severe limitations and worst outcomes in various aspects of lives of traffic accident injured people and their families. Therefore, understanding their experiences is very important to design better programs with regard to their treatment and returning to the society. In this regard, we conducted this study with the aim of understanding and describing the experiences of encountering with physical trauma resulting from traffic accidents.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted with qualitative research approach, using qualitative content analysis method. The study participants had a record of upper and or lower extremity injuries caused by traffic accidents of at least 3 months and at most 2 years after the accident. They were chosen by purposeful sampling method. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and continued until data saturation. Data analysis was carried out using content analysis method.
Results: The study findings based on the experiences of participants were conceptualized in three main categories; experiencing some limitations, disturbances in performing professional duties, and family problems caused by trauma. Conclusion: The study findings showed that injured people due to traffic accidents experience numerous constraints in different areas of their lives. Accordingly, proper interventions can be designed based on understanding these needs and experiences from participants’ own words to alleviate these problems. Finally, the study results provide a new insight to the medical team to understand these patients and their real health problems in a more realistic way.

Background: Although natural disasters leave thousands of deaths and wounded, one of their most significant outcomes is empowering women as well as taking measures with special attention to women. This study aimed to analyze women’s cooperation and its affective factors in natural disasters and accidents.
Materials and Methods: The study design is cross-sectional and descriptive. The study population comprised the women living in Bam, Iran and the sample size was calculated as 385. The study instrument is a researcher-made questionnaire. To analyze the data, the descriptive statistical methods, the statistical correlation test, and 1-way analysis of variance were performed by using SPSS 16.
Results: The study result about the effects of the women demographic characteristics on their cooperation showed that there were no relationships between women’s cooperation and their marital status or degree of education. However, there were significant and positive relationships between their cooperation and variables of age, being indigenous, and occupational status.
The results have also indicated that there were significant relationships between women’s cooperation and variables of knowledge and attitude.
Conclusion: Women, despite their vulnerability in natural accidents, have the capability in performing different tasks such as taking care and accommodating the injured family members, and making peace and relief in difficult and undesirable situations after natural disasters such as earthquake. However, the results of this study revealed that women’s cooperation in different parts of crisis management was very limited. This matter demands more attention of the responsible authorities.

Background: Accurate and timely information plays an important role in disaster preparedness and this information is partly obtained through research and scientific articles. This study aimed to evaluate the publication status of scientific articles about disasters and accidents in Iranian Medical Journals from 2010 to 2015.
Materials and Methods: All Persian articles on the subject of natural disasters; safety; occupational, road, or home accidents, burns, medical errors, related disasters, and emergencies were extracted. The relevant data were collected using a researcher-made checklist through the survey of selected articles.
Results: The results obtained from 36341 articles out of 156 journals published by 47 medical universities showed that 599(1.6%) articles were related to emergencies, disasters, and accidents, in which 30(0.08%) articles were about natural disasters and 569(1.5%) papers were about man-made accidents.
Conclusion: Although, there were scientific articles dedicated to emergencies, disasters and accidents, such topics were limited. Therefore, it seems necessary to take appropriate measures aimed at greater attention to the needs of national and regional medical scientists.

Background: Many organizations, especially at the time of accidents, disasters, and critical conditions, cannot provide their services without the presence of volunteers. When accidents and disasters occur, the first persons who normally appear at the scene are citizens. Volunteer citizens with the skills and local knowledge can play important roles when accidents and disasters occur and can provide valuable assistance to the relief forces. The current article aimed at examining the role of volunteer citizens in response to accidents and disasters.  
Materials and Methods: The current study examined the published articles from 2000 to 2016 based on the following keywords: informal volunteers in the disasters, challenges facing volunteer citizens in accidents and disasters, informal volunteers and disasters in local and foreign electronic databases including SID, Magiran, Iran Medex, ISC, Google Scholar, PubMed, ISI, and Scopus.
Results: Based on the search strategy, 50 articles were examined and the keywords, definitions, volunteer roles, role of volunteers in accidents and disasters, various types of informal voluntary activities, and volunteer citizens’ participation were examined. 
Conclusion: Studies referred to the roles, definitions, and challenges that informal volunteers face in various stages of accidents and disasters and the obvious point in the research was that more adaptive and comprehensive crisis and emergency management models are needed to utilize the capacities and flexibility of volunteers available within and between communities in disasters, and the network structure management can be helpful to manage the volunteers. 

Background: Pre-hospital emergency service is an important part of any health care system. The present study was conducted to evaluate the pre-hospital Emergency Services 115 of Mashhad City, Iran with emphasis on response to traffic accidents during 2012-2013.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional and applied study, 53685 files of traffic accident victims related to 42240 missions accomplished during 2012-2013 were evaluated. The study data were collected by referring to the statistics unit of the Center for Medical Emergencies and Accidents. To determine the services performed for the victims, a researcher-designed checklist was used. Descriptive statistics were performed to analyze the raw data. All analyses were done by Excel 2013.
Results: The average (SD) age of traffic accident victims was 29.5(15.69) years. The frequency of accidents was more in September, on Thursdays, and between 6 and 9 PM. About 70% of missions ended with the transfer the injured to hospitals and average (SD) response times were 8:24 (2:35) minutes in 2012 and 9:01 (2:46) minutes in 2013. The frequency of treatment and dispatch to hospitals by the resident physician were reported as 70.51% in 2012 and 69.7% in 2013. The most frequent action taken were injections (96%) and then stabilizing body limbs (60%).
Conclusion: Considering the findings of this research, the response time was longer than the standard time. Regarding the performed services, shortcomings in manpower and ambulance equipment can reduce the effectiveness of missions. Therefore, Emergency Center 115 of Mashhad should carry out some interventions to resolve shortages in manpower and equipment to reach standard conditions and provide better services.

Background: Collaboration of patients in caring is regarded as a gold standard in professional care associated with modern nursing. Considering the complexity of the concept, it is imperative to analyze caring of patients with motor disability caused by traffic accidents.
Materials and Methods: This is a qualitative study to analyze the concept of collaboration in caring for traffic casualties using a hybrid model in three stages. In the first stage, to conduct a systemic review, a literature search was performed using databases such as Blackwell, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and Elsevier with the keywords: Collaboration in caring and orthopedic victims of traffic accidents. The literature search resulted in 110 related reviews up to 2016. In the second stage or field stage, for the importance of collaboration in caring for traffic casualties, 7 traffic victims and 3 nurses were interviewed and data were analyzed by content analysis. Finally, in the third stage, an overall analysis was performed according to the findings in previous stages.
Results: Combining the results of reviews and findings of field study, we obtained 87 codes, 14 subcategories, and 5 categories (“organizational factors in sharing information and knowledge”, “promoting a sense of responsibility in patient”, “patient empowerment for health promotion”, “mutual trust”, and “hypersensitivity to active engagement to return to normal life”) in content analysis.
Conclusion: Recognizing the concept of collaboration of patient with motor disability in caring from the orthopedic viewpoint, managers and nurses will be able to plan and execute management and educational activities according to the insight obtained from scientific findings to provide suitable conditions in this regard.

Background: Human factors have the most significant effects on the occurrence of traffic accidents among the three factors of human, road, and vehicle. The driver is a significant traffic safety concern. Interventions that enhance driver’s safety are required. Risky behaviors of drivers on the road influence physical healthy and personality. The aim of this study is to report the protocol for a sequential explanatory mixed methods study that set out to determine the drivers’ traffic factors, the associated factors and exploring the perception of drivers about the risky traffic factors on the road. The ultimate purpose of the study is to design a preventive and cultural based strategy to promote driver’s safety.
Materials and Methods: This is a sequential explanatory mixed methods design. The study has two sequential strands. The follow-up explanation model has used to develop the quantitative results by gathering qualitative data from participants who could assist in elucidating the results correctly. During the first strand (a quantitative phase) and a population-based cross-sectional survey of a sample of drivers of all ages and level of experiences will be carried out using the proportional random sampling method, in Tehran, Iran. Data will be collected by questionnaires involving items on socio-demographic information, items on measuring health (Drivers Medical Questionnaire), and questions on five-factor Personality (NEO-FFI), drivers risky behaviors (Manchester driving behavior questionnaire). Questionnaires will be completed through a face-to-face interview. In the second strand, a qualitative study will be conducted. A purposeful sampling strategy will be used, and participants who can help to explain the quantitative findings will be selected. Individual fully developed interviews will predominate data collection in the qualitative strand the. A qualitative content analysis approach will be undertaken to create an itemized understanding of the traffic-risky behaviors among drivers of all ages and level of experiences.
Conclusion: The findings of this explanatory mixed methods study will provide information on traffic-risky behaviors by all drivers. The results will be implemented to design a cultural based strategy, and intervention programs are to be designed to promote driver’s health in the community.

Background: Driving fines are one of the tools to reduce driving violations, and consequently, injuries due to car accidents. In 2010, a new set of laws and fines were passed with the aim of deterring driving violations. Since the second half of March 2013, the new laws and fines were enforced throughout the country. To compare the number of accident victims referred to the hospitals affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences before and after the implementation of the new traffic offenses law.
Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive-analytic study. The study population consisted of all accident victims referred to the emergency department of hospitals of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences from March 2014 to September 2017. Sampling method was total enumerative method. For data collection, a checklist was used. After obtaining the necessary permissions, the researcher completed the checklist by referring to the hospitals and the Deputy of Treatment of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. The relevant data were extracted from the Hospital Information and MedCare Systems. In addition to comparing the average number of victims before and after the implementation of the new law, the average number of victims were compared in terms of the body part injury, the site of the accident before and after the implementation of the law. The obtained data were analyzed by using descriptive and analytical statistics including t test.
Results: The average monthly number of casualties before the implementation of the new law was 3053 and after the implementation it increased to 3492 people. This difference was statistically significant (P≤0.05). Although this increase was observed in the average number of the victims in all four body parts groups, after the implementation of the law, only the difference between the average number of victims with multiple body injuries was statistically significant (P≤0.05). In addition, the average number of the accident location in all four groups of the accident locations increased after the implementation of the law. However, only the difference between the average number of the accidents occurred on suburban roads before and after the implementation was statistically significant (P≤0.05).
Conclusion: On the whole, increasing driving fines does not seem to have a significant impact on reducing road traffic injuries. A more detailed investigation of this challenge is recommended to identify possible causes of the ineffectiveness of fines.