ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Commun.
Sec. Disaster Communications
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2025.1572206
TESTING AND EVALUATION OF PAKISTAN'S PIONEER DISASTER RISK COMMUNICATION APP: A CASE STUDY OF PDMA MADADGAR ANDROID-BASED APP
Provisionally accepted
Mushtaq Ahmad Jan1
Syed Irfan Ullah1
Waheed Ullah2*
Safi Ullah3Amjad Ali1Hisham Tariq4Terrence Fernando4Muhammad Saeed5- 1Centre for Disaster Preparedness and Management, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
- 2Rabdan Academy, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- 3Department of Atmospheric and Oceanographic Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
- 4School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester, North West England, United Kingdom
- 5Higher Education Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
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This case study examines the PDMA Madadgar Android-based App, developed as Pakistan's pioneer disaster risk communication platform for communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Building on our previous work, which outlined the App's conceptual design and architecture, this study presents findings on testing, evaluation, and the final product, i.e., the PDMA Madadgar App. We have used the Design Sciences Research methodology to collect, co-create, analyze, and present the data. A purposive sampling method was used for the selection of respondents, and the total sample size of the study at multiple stages was 49. Data regarding the app testing were collected through the observation method, and data for evaluation were collected through a questionnaire. The app underwent rigorous testing phases and control evaluation. Results indicate higher levels of interest and satisfaction of the research participants with Madadgar's interactive features, real-time updates, and volunteer engagement mechanisms. Testing and evaluation of the results reveal a very strong endorsement and likeness for Madadgar features, i.e., early warning (86%), community empowerment in disaster reporting (63.3%), volunteer engagement (63.3%), and locating evacuation centers (53.3%). Besides, the participatory development methodology adopted for Madadgar is also guiding relevant professionals in the development of smart solutions for risk communication in the field of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Madadgar's front-end, back-end, and database were publicly released on GitHub, enabling developers and agencies to adapt and replicate the technology for disaster risk reduction in various regions.Keywords: Disaster Risk Communication; Early Warning; Mobile App; Design Science Research Methodology; Pakistan
Keywords: Disaster risk communication, early warning, Mobile app, Design Science Research Methodology, Pakistan
Received: 08 Feb 2025; Accepted: 04 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jan, Ullah, Ullah, Ullah, Ali, Tariq, Fernando and Saeed. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Waheed Ullah, Rabdan Academy, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.