Kappy Brandon, Parish April, Barda Amie, Frost Pat, Timm Nathan
Division of Emergency Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Division of Emergency Medicine, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.
Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2022 May 30;17:e199. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2022.90.
Though children comprise a large percentage of the population and are uniquely vulnerable to disasters, pediatric considerations are often omitted from regional and hospital-based emergency preparedness. Children's absence is particularly notable in hazard vulnerability analyses (HVAs), a commonly used tool that allows emergency managers to identify a hazard's impact, probability of occurrence, and previous mitigation efforts. This paper introduces a new pediatric-specific HVA that provides emergency managers with a quantifiable means to determine how a hazard might affect children within a given region, taking into account existing preparedness most relevant to children's safety. Impact and preparedness categories within the pediatric-specific HVA incorporate age-based equipment and care needs, long-term developmental and mental health consequences, and the hospital and community functions most necessary for supporting children during disasters. The HVA allows emergency managers to create a more comprehensive assessment of their pediatric populations and preparatory requirements.
尽管儿童在人口中占很大比例，且特别容易受到灾害影响，但在区域和医院层面的应急准备工作中，往往忽略了对儿童的考量。在灾害脆弱性分析（HVAs）中，儿童的缺失尤为明显，灾害脆弱性分析是一种常用工具，可让应急管理人员识别灾害的影响、发生概率以及以往的减灾措施。本文介绍了一种新的针对儿童的灾害脆弱性分析方法，该方法为应急管理人员提供了一种可量化的手段，用以确定在给定区域内灾害可能如何影响儿童，同时考虑到与儿童安全最相关的现有准备情况。针对儿童的灾害脆弱性分析中的影响和准备类别纳入了基于年龄的设备和护理需求、长期发育和心理健康后果，以及灾害期间支持儿童最必需的医院和社区功能。这种灾害脆弱性分析方法使应急管理人员能够对其儿童群体及其准备要求进行更全面的评估。
