Planning for Children in Disasters: Education and Strategies for the Best Outcomes

Disasters overwhelm health care resources and endanger everyone in a community.Children are more vulnerable to disasters than healthy adults for several reasons.They lack the problem-solving skills, strength, and self-advocacy to ensure personal safety.They are more prone to injury and heat-and cold-related illnesses.Children are more likely to live in areas subject to damage, and certain disaster events occur more frequently for pediatric patients, posing significant risks.Children lack a broad array of coping skills, making them vulnerable to acute and chronic mental health consequences of disasters.Despite decades of work to mitigate the risks of disasters, significant gaps in pediatric readiness remain, including real-time tracking of pediatric hospital beds and emergency department capacity, telehealth resources, and assessments of pediatric disaster readiness.National organizations have identified these gaps and taken steps to improve outcomes and reduce the impact on pediatric patients (Kappy et al., 2022).Federal efforts have included the 2010 National Commission on Children and Disasters report identifying gaps and providing recommendations for pediatric disaster preparedness and response (NCCD, 2010).Now, under the direction of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters (NACCD), established by the Pandemic and All Hazard Preparedness Act (PAHPA 2006), aims to improve preparedness, response, and recovery from all disasters by issuing timely recommendations.The NACCD was reestablished under current legislation and has recently issued its first report (Schonfeld et al., 2023).In the private sector, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has strengthened its efforts to address the needs of children before, during, and after disasters, and partners with health