Reframing Disaster Planning with Quality Improvement Methodology Using Family Reunification as a Case Study

Area of Science:

• Disaster preparedness and hospital management
• Pediatric emergency response and family reunification
• Quality improvement methodologies in healthcare

Background:

• Comprehensive disaster planning, particularly for family reunification, is often lacking in hospitals.
• National Pediatric Readiness Projects show less than 50% of hospitals have adequate disaster plans for children.
• Quality Improvement (QI) offers a framework to engage hospital staff in disaster planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a family reunification plan using QI methodology.
• To achieve child-safe reunification within 4 hours of a disaster event.
• To enhance hospital disaster preparedness for pediatric populations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized QI tools: fishbone diagram, key driver diagram, and process maps.
• Employed the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model for iterative testing and revision.
• Ensured active involvement of key stakeholders throughout the process.

Main Results:

• Successfully developed a family reunification plan leveraging QI methodology.
• Facilitated the creation of the plan by hospital personnel new to disaster management.
• Improved the hospital's capacity for child-safe family reunification post-disaster.

Conclusions:

• QI methodology is effective for developing and improving hospital disaster plans, especially family reunification.
• Engaging diverse hospital staff, even those unfamiliar with disaster planning, is key to successful plan development.
• This approach enhances pediatric disaster readiness and ensures timely child-safe family reunification.