Many parts of the health systems that we rely on to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters were designed with adults in mind; however, nearly 25% of the people in the U.S. are children. Children’s disaster health needs may be different from those of adults. For example, medications developed for adults may require different dosages or formulations to be safe for children to take. Children also process information and cope with disasters differently than adults. The list of differences goes on and on.

By working together, HHS is finding solutions to problems affecting children in disasters. Since 2010, HHS has focused in finding ways to improve disaster health for children through the Children’s HHS Interagency Leadership on Disasters (CHILD) Working Group. The CHILD Working Group integrates the needs of children across all HHS disaster planning activities and operations. It uses an all-hazards approach, focusing on a wide array of emergency events including school violence, emerging infectious diseases, and natural disasters.

HHS has made significant progress in integrating the needs of children into disaster health preparedness, response, and recovery activities. The 2014-2015 Report of the CHILD Working Group details the progress that HHS has made in promoting disaster health for children. The report provides departmental updates within the following six themes: (1) behavioral health; (2) medical countermeasures; (3) child physical health, EMS, and pediatric transport; (4) child care, child welfare, and human services; (5) pregnant and breastfeeding women and newborns; and (6) children at heightened risk.

Although HHS has made progress in each of the six areas outlined above, a few accomplishments stand out:

• Approving Medical Countermeasures to Fight Radiation Exposure: FDA approved filgrastim and pegfilgrastim, under the Animal Rule, for adults and pediatric patients to increase survival in patients acutely exposed to myelosuppressive doses of radiation. Myelosuppression occurs when radiation damages the bone marrow and prevents the production of some blood and immune cells.
• Hospital Emergency Preparedness Checklist: Many disaster policies were conceived with adults in mind, but it can be challenging to apply those policies effectively to children. HRSA’s Emergency Medical Services for Children worked with ASPR and a group of subject matter experts to develop the Checklist of Essential Pediatric Domains and Considerations for Every Hospital’s Disaster Preparedness Policies. The checklist helps hospital administrators incorporate essential pediatric considerations into existing hospital disaster policies.
• Online Compendia of Health Resources Focused on Pregnant Women and Children: There are a wide variety of resources on helping pregnant women and children in disasters. The NIH Disaster Information Research Center brought together the top resources into two compendia: Health Resources on Children in Disasters and Emergencies and Health Resources on Pregnant Women in Disasters and Emergencies.
• Setting Goals for Healthy People 2020: Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans in a wide variety of topic areas, including emergency preparedness. ASPR and CDC co-led the development of four additional objectives that are aimed at improving the way that schools, child care providers, and families prepare for and respond to disasters and emergencies.
• Enhancing Ebola Preparedness: ACF Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response created a series of fact sheets on issues related to Ebola. The fact sheets helped parents better understand the risks of Ebola and helped them start a conversation with their children about the disease. The fact sheets also helped Head Start programs, child care providers, and human services programs better understand and plan for Ebola.

While HHS has come a long way in addressing the needs of children since the creation of the CHILD Working Group, more work remains. In 2016, the Flint, Michigan, water crisis and the Zika virus outbreak threatened the health of children in particular, reminding planners of the importance of preparing not just for natural disasters, but also for public health emergencies.

To learn more about the progress of the CHILD Working Group and the advances that you can incorporate into your own disaster health planning efforts for children, check out the Report of the CHILD Working Group: Update on Department Activities.