Background: Education and research on relief-related issues and efforts to improve relief services provide a suitable basis for enhancing the preparedness of relief and rescue workers and optimizing relief and rescue operations. This study aimed to design a comprehensive system for specialized training of relief and rescue workers in the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS).
Methods: This developmental study used a non-experimental, descriptive-survey design. A mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, was used. First, the current state of training at the IRCS was examined, and existing weaknesses were identified through document review and analysis and in-depth interviews with 11 training managers and experts selected through purposive sampling. Based on the analysis of the current situation, the identified weaknesses, and the scientific literature, a proposed model for specialized training was developed. The model was validated using a questionnaire completed by 17 managers and professionals involved in specialized training at the IRCS. Content validity was used to assess the validity of the instrument, and reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. The alpha coefficients for the components of the specialized training system were 0.95 for needs assessment, 0.97 for design, 0.97 for implementation, 0.96 for evaluation, and 0.96 for motivational mechanisms, indicating high instrument reliability. Data were analyzed using the one-sample t-test in SPSS.
Findings: The identified weaknesses in specialized training at the IRCS included insufficient attention to needs assessment and the lack of a structured model in this area, inadequate mechanisms for designing training programs, inadequate implementation of training courses, lack of systematic monitoring and evaluation of training courses, and insufficient attention to motivational mechanisms in the training process. Accordingly, the proposed comprehensive training system consists of five components: needs assessment, design, implementation, evaluation, and motivational mechanisms.
Conclusion: The proposed model for specialized training at the IRCS is both conceptual and operational. It considers the existing scientific literature and draws on findings from a mixed-methods study of current training practices and organizational conditions at the IRCS to support the practical feasibility of implementing the model within the Society.