Children and disasters: public mental health approaches

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511544415.004

3 - Children and disasters: public mental health approaches

from Part II - Foundations of disaster psychiatry

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 August 2009

Robert S. Pynoos ,

Alan M. Steinberg and

Edited by

Lars Weisaeth and

Robert S. Pynoos: Affiliation:
Center Director National Center for Child Traumatic Stress
Alan M. Steinberg: Affiliation:
Associate Director University of California
Melissa J. Brymer: Affiliation:
Director Terrorism and Disaster Programs National Center for Child Traumatic Stress USA
Robert J. Ursano: Affiliation:
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Maryland
Carol S. Fullerton: Affiliation:
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Maryland
Lars Weisaeth: Affiliation:
Universitetet i Oslo
Beverley Raphael: Affiliation:
University of Western Sydney

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Summary

Introduction

It has been estimated that, each year between 1990 and 1999, an average of 188 million people worldwide were affected by disaster, six times more than the average of 31 million people affected annually by conflict (International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, 2005). These figures for disasters do not include estimates for smaller disasters that typically are under-reported. Of particular concern around the world is that weather-related disasters have increased over the past decade, as evidenced by the devastating hurricanes across the Gulf Coast in the United States. Along with natural disasters, the possibility of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) terrorism places significant numbers of children and families at enormous risk for psychosocial morbidity, and places extreme demands on shelters, schools, primary care settings, health and mental health care facilities, as well as federal, state and local agencies and organizations that play a role in coordinating or participating in disaster response. Children have unique risks from WMDs due to various physiological and psychological factors, including susceptibility to radiation, propensity to become hypothermic from mass decontamination, inadequate availability of pediatric emergency care and equipment, contraindications for pediatric use of standard treatments, and possible greater risk from the biological agents themselves (Pynoos et al., 2005a). Pandemic flu represents another type of catastrophic scenario, with special mental health aspects for children and families, including issues of potential quarantine for long periods.

To date, there are no reliable large-scale epidemiological data on the morbidity or mortality of children exposed to terrorism and disaster.

Keywords

adolescents disaster response natural disasters postdisaster recovery traumatized children public mental health psychiatric care

Type: Chapter
Information: Textbook of Disaster Psychiatry , pp. 48 - 68

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511544415.004 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2007

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3 - Children and disasters: public mental health approaches

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