DRRN co-lead Sara Shneiderman has co-authored an article with Ratna K. Shrestha, Raunak Shrestha, and Jeevan Baniya in the Journal of Happiness Studies titled "Beyond Reconstruction: What Leads to Satisfaction in Post-Disaster Recovery?"
In their article, the authors found that freedom of choice throughout the post-earthquake reconstruction process in Nepal was a much stronger predictor of satisfaction than the extent of the reconstruction. They were surprised to find that factors such as income, education, location, occupation, household size and age of respondents did not statistically affect satisfaction in the reconstruction and recovery processes. The only statistically significant factors in levels of satisfaction, aside from freedom of choice, were gender and ethnicity. As the authors note, “These findings underscore the importance of freedom, and ethnic or gender-specific policies, in promoting well-being in post-disaster recovery.”
Follow the link below to read the full article.