Research Counts

Children’s health can be a powerful indicator of how well a community is recovering from a disaster. The inverse is also true—investing in systems that support children can lead to faster recovery for the community as a whole.

For families whose children have special healthcare needs, preparing for disasters, evacuating, and finding shelter can be overwhelming—and missteps can be life-threatening. Luckily, steps can be taken to keep families safe and reduce stress.

Small steps and a change of perspective about infant feeding in evacuation shelters could have big impacts on the well-being of mothers and children alike.

Many children are amazingly resilient after experiencing disaster. But for those who aren't, early screening can help identify who will need resources the most.

When it comes to mental health impacts after disaster, children can take their cues from a suffering parent—meaning services need to assess and address the entire family.

Providing supportive environments for children after a disaster can be difficult to achieve in an evidence-based way. A conceptual framework could hold the key to creating places where disaster-affected children can thrive.

Learn how this this special collection communicates the latest research on children and disasters and why it's so important that we understand their strengths, as well as their vulnerabilities.

Disasters are understandably frightening for children, but there are steps that parents and teachers can take to ensure more positive outcomes.

What do children need after a disaster? Drawing from lessons learned after Hurricane Katrina, Fothergill and Peek highlight six critical spheres in a child's life that need additional support when disaster strikes.

Legislation that ensures eldercare facilities keep the power on during disasters—preventing needless deaths from heat or equipment failure—are necessary, but they need to be thoughtfully implemented.