ABSTRACT
Pediatricians throughout the world are becoming aware of the severe phychological reactions among children in man-made and natural disasters, especially in war-torn areas of the world. This paper is the second of two by a Task Force of the American Psychological Association and is focused especially on interventions. There has been relatively little attention to the needs of children, especially their psychological needs.
The Task Force points out the need to have a predisaster preparation phase, a short-term intervention, and a long-term intervention phase. Most of the literature reviewed in this paper is related to natural disasters in the United States. However, it is likely that the same principles will apply to dealing with children in war-torn areas of the world. The Task Force makes a strong plea, however, for stronger evaluation of disaster-related interventions. The American Academy of Pediatrics is developing, in collaboration with Dr Karen Olness' program at Case Western Reserve University and Dr Fred Burkle's program at the University of Hawaii, a program that prepares a multidisciplinary team for crisis intervention in times of disaster, both natural and man-made. Interventions with children in disasters are clearly an emerging and very important field for all who care for children.
