Pediatric Emergency Preparedness Training: Are We on a Path Toward National Dissemination?

Abstract

Emergency preparedness training is crucial for all health professionals, but the physiologic, anatomic, and psychologic differences between children and adults necessitates that health professionals receive training specific to pediatric emergencies. Before a standardized, nationally disseminated pediatric curriculum can be developed or endorsed, evidence-based evaluations of short- and long-term outcomes need to be conducted. A review of literature was conducted to identify developed courses and any evaluation of these courses. Much has been published that supports the need for pediatric emergency preparedness, and many resources have been developed. However, very little literature presents evaluations of training courses. To achieve evidence-based pediatric emergency preparedness training, existing training programs must be evaluated, standardized training guidelines need to be developed, and critical components of pediatric disaster response need to be captured in the academic literature.