What about the Children?

Abstract

Since 9/11 and recent major natural disasters, research literature has become abundant in disaster preparedness. Most disaster preparedness research focuses on the general population, but what about the children? This paper is a focused accumulation of the current research in disaster preparedness of children. Most of the articles chosen pay particular attention to the preparedness of emergency responders, nurses, and other healthcare personnel to care for the pediatric population during times of emergencies and disasters. While the rest of the articles spotlight the importance of having a pediatric disaster care plan in place. At the end of the review of the literature there is a write up that explores the current pediatric disaster plan in Cookeville, TN and how it compares to the research.