Eight million American children under the age of 5 attend daycare and more than another 50 million American children are in school or daycare settings. Emergency planning requirements for daycare licensing vary by state. Expert opinions were used to create a disaster preparedness video designed for daycare providers to cover a broad spectrum of scenarios.

Various stakeholders (17) devised the outline for an educational pre-disaster video for child daycare providers using the Delphi technique. Fleiss κ values were obtained for consensus data. A 20-minute video was created, addressing the physical, psychological, and legal needs of children during and after a disaster. Viewers completed an anonymous survey to evaluate topic comprehension.

A consensus was attempted on all topics, ranging from elements for inclusion to presentation format. The Fleiss κ value of 0.07 was obtained. Fifty-seven of the total 168 video viewers completed the 10-question survey, with comprehension scores ranging from 72% to 100%.

Evaluation of caregivers that viewed our video supports understanding of video contents. Ultimately, the technique used to create and disseminate the resources may serve as a template for others providing pre-disaster planning education. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:123–127)

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of hygiene routines and characteristics of the daycare centre (DCC) on sickness absence in preschool children.

In Sweden most children attend daycare outside home during daytime. Daycare outside home results in cognitive and social gains for the children, but it also increases the risk of infectious symptoms. About 17%–30% of the respiratory tract infections in preschool children are due to the daycare stay. Factors of importance for sickness absence in DCC have been studied earlier but no study has had a broader focus on routines and daycare characteristics at the same.

In 2003–2004 a national sample of 138 DCCs were visited by a study nurses who assisted in filling in a questionnaire on hygiene routines and daycare characteristics. Thereafter the DCC reported sickness absence on group level during two weeks in the autumn and two weeks in the spring.

Sickness absence was about 10% both in the autumn and in the spring. Only about 10% of the DCC had written rules about hand washing in children but almost all had unwritten rules. More than 50 children at the DCC and no regular contact with the child health centres were found to be of significant importance for sickness absence using a multiple logistic regression model.

Children represent a vulnerable population, and special considerations are necessary to care for them properly during disasters. Comprehensive disaster responses include addressing the unique needs of children during mass-casualty incidents, such as the prevention of unintentional injuries. Early in the morning of 04 September 2005, approximately 1,600 Hurricane Katrina and/or flood survivors from NewOrleans, including approximately 300 children, arrived at Camp Gruber, an Oklahoma National Guard base in Eastern Oklahoma.

The primary function of Camp Gruber to train support personnel for the Oklahoma National Guard. This is not a child-safe environment. It was hypothesized that the camp contained numerous child injury hazards and that these hazards could be removed systematically using local child injury prevention experts, thereby preventing unintentional injuries to the displaced children.

On 08 September, “Operation Child-Safe” was launched by the Pediatric Injury Response Team to identify and remove pediatric injury hazards from Camp Gruber. Injury prevention experts from the Safe Kids Tulsa Area (SKTA) Chapter, the closest pediatric injury prevention group in the region, spearheaded the operation. Several visits were required to remove all of the injury hazards that were identified.

Many hazards were identified and removed immediately, while others were addressed in a formal letter to the Camp Gruber Commander for required consent to implement changes. Hazards identified in the camp included, but were not limited to: (1) dangerous chemicals; (2) choking hazards; (3) open electrical outlets; and (4) missing smoke detectors. Bicycle helmets, car seats, strollers, portable cribs, and other safety-related items were passed out to families in need. A licensed daycare facility also was established in order to give the adult guardians a break from constant supervision. Over the course of one month, only one preventable injury (minor head injury) was reported during camp operations, and this particular injury occurred two days before “Operation Child-Safe” was initiated (Day 3 of camp operations).

In the aftermath of an event that displaces large numbers of people, it is likely that children will be exposed to numerous injury hazards. Volunteers with expertise in child injury prevention are needed to make an evacuee shelter safer for children.