Factors Affecting the Prepositioning of Relief Items for Natural Disasters: A Systematic Review

Context: Humanitarian logistics aims to reduce the suffering of disaster victims by fulfilling their immediate needs. A key component of humanitarian logistics is the prepositioning of relief items (such as water and food) for effective emergency response. Objectives: This study aimed to explore factors affecting the prepositioning of relief items for natural disasters. Data Sources: This was a systematic review. Relevant articles were retrieved from Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. We also assessed other gray literature. Data Extraction: Data were summarized and analyzed through thematic content analysis. Overall, 22 final articles were included in the study. Articles that referred to the prepositioning of relief items were included in the study. Results: Factors affecting the prepositioning of relief items were categorized into four main categories and eight sub-categories. These categories included site selection, preparation, and management of warehouse (with two sub-categories of warehouse site selection, warehouse workforce); risk management studies (with two sub-categories of uncertainty, and demand estimation); infrastructures (with two sub-categories of transportation infrastructures, and other infrastructures); and financial and sociopolitical factors (with two sub-categories of financial problems and limitations sociopolitical factors). Conclusions: Appropriate identification of factors that affect relief-item prepositioning can help decision-makers design appropriate models for prepositioning.