Assessing Turkey’s disaster management response and the psychosocial well-being of earthquake survivors: insights from the February 2023 earthquakes

Natural disasters cause significant loss of life and heavily affect social, psychological, and economic well-being. Effective disaster management requires timely, adequate responses. Turkey, frequently exposed to disasters, needs strong management strategies. This retrospective study examines psychosocial service records to evaluate small-scale disaster responses in Samsun, emphasising temporary resettlement and survivors’ psychosocial well-being. Psychological well-being was analysed using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as an analytical framework. Findings show mixed experiences: while survivors appreciated shelter, service quality, and social support, challenges such as poor food, lack of privacy, internet issues, and limited social activities dominated. Psychosocial analysis revealed that 93% did not use available psychological support, likely due to stigma, despite PTSD symptoms. These results underscore the need for social work practitioners to implement more engaging psychological interventions, guided by CSWE competencies, and for disaster initiatives to include systematic impact evaluation. Such measures can enhance survivor recovery, self-actualisation, and professional disaster practice.