Pediatric Considerations in Disaster Settings : A Concise Guide to Advocating for Children's Needs

Man-made or natural disasters – due to armed conflict, environmental catastrophes, forced displacements, and epidemics – affect thousands of people worldwide each year with loss of home, livelihood, or possessions. Complex humanitarian disasters and emergencies are on the rise due to international conflict or civil war. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlights the need for efficient and equitable disaster responses, particularly for those in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). 

The need for pediatric-specific considerations and care during disasters, particularly during humanitarian emergencies and in resource-limited settings with baseline high burdens of preventable illness and poor access to care (i.e., in chronic disaster settings), is an important and sometimes overlooked component of disaster response. Children make up a disproportionately large percent of the victims of natural or man-made disasters, largely due to their developmental and physical vulnerabilities. It is commonly and wrongly assumed that children are resilient and that their reactions to disasters are temporary and, as a result, their psychological and emotional needs may be neglected following disasters, particularly when parents and other adults in their lives are having trouble coping with the events themselves. Further, children and adolescents are hampered in the help-seeking process by their developmental status, lack of experience and knowledge about how to seek help and, possibly, their lack of awareness of their own distress. Last, children with complex healthcare needs or disabilities are especially at risk. Catastrophic consequences for children due to gaps in preparedness and response have also been demonstrated in high-income settings, (i.e., Hurricane Katrina).  

Previous papers called for better training for all levels of medical trainees and disaster relief workers to improve pediatric disaster preparedness. Despite this fact, programs designed to meet the specific needs of children receive low priority and relief workers often lack the special expertise they need to care for children in disasters. Likewise, there is still a gap in guidelines for the care of and advocacy for children’s specific needs within a disaster setting. This book addresses these gaps.

Written by experts in the field, Pediatric Considerations in Disaster Settings is a multi-institutional and multi-author collaboration representing voices from low-, middle-, and high-income settings, is at baseline to help pediatricians and healthcare professionals in leading the efforts for the betterment of child survival and well-being worldwide. Further, its objectives are to summarize evidenced-based guidelines and real-world experience from professionals who have cared for children in disaster settings in various resource-contexts; address a timely and urgent need for guidance in recent and current conflicts and disasters; equip healthcare professionals and public health workers with the vocabulary and skills to work effectively in a team responding to a disaster, regardless of the resource capacity of the setting; and educate the audience on ways to adapt interventions and advocacy strategies for the unique needs of children in a disaster in any resource-setting.