학술논문

Toward the Way Forward: The National Childrenʼs Disaster Mental Health Concept of Operations
Document Type
Academic Journal
Source
Disaster Medicine & Public Health Preparedness. Jun 01, 2012 6(2):174-181
Subject
Language
English
ISSN
1935-7893
Abstract
Although increasing evidence suggests that children are at particular risk from disasters and evidence-based practices have been developed to triage and treat them effectively, no strategy or concept of operations linking best practices for disaster response is currently in place. To our knowledge, this report describes the first effort to address this critical gap and outlines a triage-driven childrenʼs disaster mental health incident response strategy for seamless preparedness, response, and recovery elements that can be used now. The national childrenʼs disaster mental health concept of operations (NCDMH CONOPS) details the essential elements needed for an interoperable, coordinated response for the mental health needs of children by local communities, counties, regions, and states to better meet the needs of children affected by disasters and terrorism incidents. This CONOPS for children proposes the use of an evidence-based, rapid triage system to provide a common data metric to incident response and recovery action and to rationally align limited resources to those at greater need in a population-based approach.