Development and Dissemination of a Checklist of Essential Pediatric Domains and Considerations for Every Hospital's Disaster Preparedness Policies

Background/Purpose: Children comprise 26.7% of the US population and account for about 20% of hospital emergency department visits. In 2010 the National Commission on Children and Disasters reported persistent deficiencies in every functional area of pediatric disaster preparedness. The objective of this initiative is to augment existing resources to develop consensus on essential domains of pediatric considerations that should be incorporated into disaster policies for all hospital types. Methods: In 2013, the Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program completed an assessment of over 5,000 US emergency departments (EDs) as part of the National Pediatric Readiness Project, a joint quality improvement initiative (n=4146; 82.7% response). Results/Outcomes:  Fewer than half of all US hospitals reported having written disaster plans that address issues specific to the care of children.  Subsequently, the National Pediatric Readiness Project stakeholder group recommended that a multidisciplinary workgroup be convened to develop a tool to help hospitals incorporate pediatrics into existing or future disaster plans.  This culminated in the Checklist of Essential Pediatric Domains and Considerations for Every Hospital’s Disaster Preparedness Policies, which is intended to educate hospital administrators and clinical leadership on specific considerations in planning for the pediatric population during disasters. Conclusions: The checklist's pediatric domains and considerations should be well integrated into existing all-hazards hospital disaster preparedness policies to assure that the special needs of pediatric patients and their families are integral to the disaster plan rather than being added as an addendum or appendix. Additionally, they should be incorporated into routine disaster education and training curricula.