Phase 1: Focus Groups to Assess Informational Needs for Equity-Supporting Disaster Risk Information, in Human-Centered Design for Equity-Supporting Disaster Risk and Loss Information

This study seeks to address this gap by identifying the metrics required for equity-focused disaster risk management through a social science-informed and human-centered approach. We conducted 15 virtual focus groups with a total sample of 49 global disaster management practitioners, leveraging the USGS PAGER (United States Geological Survey Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response), an earthquake impact product that produces the traditional impact metrics of fatalities and economic losses. With PAGER informing the focus group discussion, our team posed several open-ended questions to learn how practitioners consider social equity in their decision-making, what metrics they use, and what modeling gaps exist to support these decisions. Focus group data revealed that the traditional impact metrics shown in PAGER do not fully support practitioner decisions that integrate equity. Participants required equity-supporting risk metrics, including disaggregated risk metrics to understand who is exposed, vulnerable, or impacted, and actionable impact metrics to understand how to care for affected populations. Importantly, designing models to produce these metrics requires context-driven approaches that are user-oriented and locally specific.