Emergency Preparedness Plans and Perceptions Among a Sample of United States Childcare Providers

Abstract

ObjectivesChildren are at increased risk for experiencing negative physical and mental health outcomes as a result of disasters. Millions of children spend their days in childcare centers or in residential family childcare settings. The purpose of this study was to describe childcare providers’ perceived levels of preparedness capabilities and to assess differences in levels of perceived preparedness between different types of childcare providers.MethodsA national convenience sample of childcare center administrators and residential family childcare administrators completed a brief online survey about their preparedness efforts.ResultsOverall, there were few differences in preparedness between childcare centers and residential family childcare providers. However, childcare centers were more likely to report that they had written plans (94.47%) than residential family childcare providers (83.73%) were (χ12=15.62; P<.001). Both types of providers were more likely to report being very prepared/prepared for fires (91.31%) than they were for any other type of emergency (flooding, active shooter, etc.; 45.08% to 79.34%).ConclusionsFuture work should assess how childcare providers respond to and recover from emergencies, as well as explore the types of resources childcare providers need in order to feel comfortable caring for children during such emergency situations. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:704–708)

Analysis of Self-Concept in Adolescents before and during COVID-19 Lockdown: Differences by Gender and Sports Activity

“…Every country negatively affected by a disaster or a pandemic considers adolescents, the elderly and disabled people to be the main at-risk population groups [1][2][3]. The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infection, which leads to the disease called COVID-19 [4], caused an international state of health emergency and global pandemic [5].…”

“…Furthermore, COVID-19 globally jeopardises people's mental health since it increases stress, anxiety, depression and negative social behaviour [9][10][11]. Therefore, adolescents are in danger of experiencing negative consequences for both mental and physical health as a result of pandemics and disasters [2,12]. Likewise, COVID-19 is affecting aspects of daily life, such as educational, social and leisure activities, which present both familial and emotional challenges [7,8,13,14].…”

Rapid response to mass shootings

“…Ultimately, to reduce casualties and deaths from mass shootings, the United States must invest in efforts to prevent these tragedies from occurring in the first place. This means investing in initiatives stemming from multiple sectors: For example, implementing stricter firearm laws known to be associated with reductions in mass shootings (Reeping et al., ), advancing programming efforts in schools and neighborhoods to address factors that are known to predict violence, increasing access to health care and mental health care across communities, and rethinking law enforcement practices (Leser, Looper‐Coats, & Roszak, ). As mass shootings continue to persist, however, planned and efficient rapid response, which also includes multiple, coordinated medical and law enforcement sectors, is also a key approach to minimizing the death and disability that an active shooter inflicts.…”