Tracking and reunification of children in disasters: Development of a learning object

Background/Purpose In its 2010 report, the National Commission on Children and Disasters identified a number of gaps in the nation's care of children in disasters. One key recommendation was the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (NCDMPH) should develop pediatric training for disaster health responders. This session will describe an effort to facilitate learning on tracking and reunification of children in disasters by a wide range of health professionals. Methods With expert input from the public health, medical and EMS communities, a learning object was developed for online training. Attention was given to the needs of adult learners and the range of circumstances in which health professionals might access the content. Options for how the content might form the basis of face-to-face training were also considered. Results/Outcomes The learning object was released as a one hour online lesson with continuing health education credit via the NCDMPH website. The learner is provided an introduction to the general process when an unaccompanied minor is encountered in a disaster, a reference card to record contacts and tasks specific to one's role and location, and cases to apply the learning. Ideas for using this content as the basis for face-to-face training were also offered. Conclusions As the disaster health community continues to fill critical gaps in education and training for health professionals, this development process illuminates one learning option, which involved subject matter expert input, attention to adult learner needs, accessibility in a range of circumstances, and anticipation of future updates.