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"Operation Child-Safe": a strategy for preventing unintentional pediatric injuries at a Hurricane Katrina evacuee
Mark A Brandenburg1, Mary Beth Ogle, Beth A Washington
1Oklahoma Institute for Disaster and Emergency Medicine, Section of Emergency Medicine, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Tulsa 74135-2553, USA. mark-brandenburg@ouhsc.edu
Insights
Operation Child-Safe successfully reduced child injuries in a disaster shelter by identifying and removing hazards. Expert intervention created a safer environment for displaced children, preventing most unintentional injuries.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric injury prevention
- Disaster response and child safety
- Public health interventions
Background:
- Children are a vulnerable population requiring special considerations during disasters.
- Hurricane Katrina survivors, including 300 children, were displaced to Camp Gruber, Oklahoma.
- Camp Gruber was not a child-safe environment, posing potential injury risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To hypothesize that Camp Gruber contained numerous child injury hazards.
- To systematically remove identified hazards using local child injury prevention experts.
- To prevent unintentional injuries among displaced children.
Main Methods:
- Operation Child-Safe was launched by the Pediatric Injury Response Team.
- Injury prevention experts identified and removed pediatric injury hazards from Camp Gruber.
- Hazards were addressed through immediate removal or formal requests for changes.
Main Results:
- Numerous hazards including dangerous chemicals, choking hazards, open electrical outlets, and missing smoke detectors were identified and removed.
- Safety items like bicycle helmets and car seats were distributed.
- A licensed daycare was established, and only one minor injury occurred post-intervention.
Conclusions:
- Disaster shelters often expose children to numerous injury hazards.
- Expert volunteers are crucial for enhancing child safety in evacuee shelters.
- Proactive hazard removal significantly reduces preventable injuries in vulnerable populations.
Introduction:
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 New Orleans, including approximately 300 children, arrived at Camp Gruber, an Oklahoma National Guard base in Eastern Oklahoma.
Problem:
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.
Methods:
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.
Results:
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).
Conclusions:
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.
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