Accounting for vulnerable populations in local disaster preparations: an examination of policy choices

Disasters disproportionately harm populations that face structural, social, or economic barriers to preparedness and recovery. While local governments are responsible for much of emergency management in the United States, relatively little is known about the conditions under which they adopt preparedness measures specifically designed to accommodate vulnerable populations. This study examines the factors associated with local emergency preparedness efforts using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). Drawing on survey data from emergency managers representing 48 counties in the US state of Kansas, the analysis compares pathways leading to two forms of preparedness: general preparatory actions aimed at the general public and targeted actions intended to support vulnerable populations, including older adults, low-income residents, individuals with limited English proficiency, and those with mobility limitations. Findings reveal that general preparedness practices are substantially more common than vulnerability-targeted measures. The fsQCA results further show that multiple causal pathways can lead to robust general preparedness. In contrast, pathways leading to targeted preparedness are fewer, less stable, and more conditional. Counties that implement vulnerability-focused preparedness generally exhibit favorable combinations of financial health, workforce sufficiency, elevated local vulnerability, and leadership support. Across both outcomes, supportive local leadership emerges as a particularly important enabling and compensatory condition, capable of facilitating preparedness efforts even in lower-capacity counties. These findings suggest that while baseline emergency preparedness has become relatively institutionalized across many local governments, efforts specifically aimed at reducing inequities in disaster outcomes remain uneven and contingent. By revealing the combinations of conditions that enable local governments to customize preparatory actions to meet the needs of vulnerable populations, the findings of this study offer actionable paths forward to emergency management and local government professionals.