P3.C041: Application of a Pediatric Specific Hazard Vulnerability Analysis Within Healthcare Coalitions

Background: Healthcare coalitions (HCCs) were created to help mitigate the healthcare related repercussions of large scale emergencies and disasters. HCCs utilize an emergency management tool called a hazard vulnerability analysis (HVA) to gain insight into areas of vulnerability and regional threats. Children are often not independently considered on HVAs, despite accounting for approximately 22% of the US population. In 2022, a pediatric specific hazard vulnerability analysis was published, which takes into account the unique needs of pediatric populations. To date, minimal has been published on the utilization of this pediatric specific HVA. This study aims to discern discrepancies in identified vulnerabilities between pediatric HVAs and non-pediatric HVAs. Additionally, this study aims to identify the need, if any, to incorporate a pediatric specific HVA in routine regional disaster planning.

Methods: Michigan is divided into eight healthcare coalitions, each with their own full time regional coordinator. The coordinator served as the HCC representative for their respective region. In cooperation with the Michigan Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response (MI-DEPR), HCC coordinators were asked to complete a pediatric specific HVA for their region and provide their most recent non-pediatric HVA. To identify gaps in pediatric preparedness, the HCC’s pediatrics HVAs were compared with previously completed non-pediatric HVAs.

Results: All eight health care coalitions completed the pediatric specific HVA and submitted the most recently conducted non-pediatric HVAs. All non-pediatric HVAs were completed within one year of the pediatric specific HVA. The top three vulnerabilities were identified from each region for the non-pediatric and pediatric HVAs.

All eight regions identified a different number one vulnerability on their pediatric HVA compared to their non-pediatric HVA. The most commonly identified vulnerabilities on the pediatric HVA included public health epidemics (50% of coalitions), power outages (50%), and tornados/severe wind (37.5%). The most common identified vulnerabilities on the non-pediatric HVA included cyber security/IT failures (50% of coalitions), severe weather (37.5%), and thunderstorms (37.5%). Seven out of eight HCCs identified infectious disease outbreaks/pandemics as a top three vulnerability on either HVA; however, zero HCCs included infectious disease outbreaks/pandemics as a top three vulnerability on both the pediatric HVA and non-pediatric HVA.

Conclusion: The utilization of a pediatric specific HVA within healthcare coalitions identified previously unrecognized high priority vulnerabilities. Without the incorporation of a pediatric focused hazard assessment, the needs of the pediatric population of a given region may be overlooked. Failure to identify pediatric vulnerabilities may result in a lack of mitigation and preparedness efforts specifically for children.