| Children have specific needs which experts often overlook in emergency response plans (ERP). The purpose of this study was to understand experts judgment regarding children in current ERPs and if the inclusion of developmentally protective elements in emergency response plans mitigates psychological trauma in the 6- to 10-year-old-child. Haddon's matrix supports the exploration of interactions between children in a disaster environment (e.g., earthquake), ERPs, physical and psychological trauma (injury), and developmentally protective elements of ERPs. Content analysis of telephone interviews provided understanding of these phenomena through 16 national and international experts in the areas of physiological and psychological trauma, public health, and emergency planning. Overall experts noted that children's psychological needs are not included in current ERP. Key findings emphasize the inclusion of reassuring pre-preparation and drilling of children in the mitigation of process trauma, training at every level of the population and the response system regarding the physiological and psychological needs of children, creating useable and meaningful (operationalized) planning tools, generating research on children's response to natural disaster, and incorporating these findings into planning. A major finding was that over all, children's needs are not addressed in the nation's emergency plans. Experts recommend a flexible framework to assist in the integration of the complexity of disaster planning and children's needs.;Key Words: Emergency response plans, school-aged children, developmentally protective elements, process/crossover trauma, psychological effects, natural disasters/earthquake... |
