August 30, 2021

Dornsife’s Center for Public Health Readiness and Communication (CPHRC) recently completed a set of tools and guidance documents to help special needs families prepare for disasters, based on their research findings.

CPHRC developed the toolkit of materials for families of children and youth with special health care needs and their healthcare providers to help address information needs. Feedback from families and health care providers was incorporated into revised versions of these materials.

Families who participated indicated that clear, concise checklists could help them prepare for emergencies. They expressed a desire for targeted information that addressed their child's unique needs. Multiple versions of a disaster preparedness checklist are each tailored to specific health care needs, which include physical disabilities, intellectual or developmental disabilities, and hearing or vision loss.

The four-year project was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who were also collaborators.

View the toolkit