Children present with unique needs, particularly in a disaster. One challenge is that children may be completely dependent on adults for their care. With this in mind, and considering the physical, psychological and legal needs of children during and after a disaster, a group of stakeholders devised the outline for an educational pre-disaster video for child daycare providers in Los Angeles County using the Delphi technique. The ultimate goal of the Delphi technique is to achieve an unbiased consensus among experts.
Save the Children Fund (Save the Children), Children's Hospital Los Angeles, a free standing level 1 pediatric trauma center, and the Los Angeles Children in Disasters Working Group (LA CID Working Group) collaborated to provide daycare providers a rubric for creating their own disaster plans.
The end result was the development of a 20-minute video containing key points in disaster planning for the daycare provider.
According to the corresponding author Dr. Rita Burke, "Planning for a disaster can be overwhelming, especially for day care providers who are charged with caring for our children. The Los Angeles Children in Disasters Working Group, identified the need and together with Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Save the Children, aimed to create a short video which helps day care providers think about the disaster planning process in a more manageable way. Our overarching goal in creating the video is to continue to build resilience in our nation for our children and future generations."
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About the Journal
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness is the first comprehensive and authoritative journal emphasizing public health preparedness and disaster response for all health care and public health professionals globally. The journal seeks to translate science into practice and integrate medical and public health perspectives. DMPHP is an official journal of the Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, and is produced by Cambridge University Press.
About the Society
The Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health aims to evolve a discipline around disaster medicine and public health. The society's goal is to improve global health security, with the involvement and development of global health professionals and others who are involved in responding to and or managing significant events. The mission of the SDMPH is to advance and promote excellence in education, training and research in disaster medicine and public health for all potential health system responders based on sound educational principles, scientific evidence and best clinical and public health practices.
Journal
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness