Prioritization of Pediatric Chemical, Biological, Radiologic, Nuclear, and Explosive Disaster Preparedness Education and Training Needs

Children are the members of our population who are most vulnerable to the effects of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) attack. It has been more than 12 years since 9/11 and most clinicians who would be providing care to children in the event of another attack still lack the requisite disaster preparedness training. Much of the needed pediatric education and training content for the diagnosis and treatment of the injurious effects of CBRNE agents has recently been both developed and well vetted. Bringing together these efforts in an educational program will result in a workforce that is better trained and prepared to address the needs of children impacted by these types of disasters. In 2011, the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health convened a Pediatric Disaster Preparedness Conference. Much of the initial groundwork for development of a pediatric disaster preparedness curriculum, including the identification of target audiences and requisite role-specific CBRNE curriculum content, was the product of this conference. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the recent developments that will enable the affordable creation of key chemical, biological, radiologic, nuclear, and explosive educational and just-in-time material.