Schools and disasters: examining the evidence for K-12 settings across the emergency management phases.

Disasters may have profound impacts on children and schools. We reviewed the evidence on schools and disasters, and analyzed these impacts across the four main emergency management (EM) phases. We reviewed 190 abstracts from 60 journals published between 2000 and 2019, using the definitions of mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery from the National Research Council. Over 48 percent of articles fell within two or more phases, particularly when they addressed popular topics such as disaster risk reduction. School safety and mitigation efforts, curriculum development and awareness training around disaster risk reduction, and the importance of cross-sector collaborations and partnerships emerged as common themes, identifying opportunities for research and practice in the process. A natural next step could be the creation of a centralized online databank for schools and administrators who need access to resources such as survey and evaluation instruments, risk/threat assessment methodologies, cultural competency training modules, and other tool kits. Use of the EM phases increases the ability to exchange ideas and actionable approaches to EM research and policy practice for school-aged children.

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Examining Postdisaster School Recovery.

This perspectives article uses a postdisaster school recovery research domain to examine two tenets of interdisciplinary research (IDR): integrative problem formulation and synthesis. Advancing interdisciplinary knowledge requires a "roadmap" of commonalities between disciplinary domains and outcomes of interest. Four school recovery domains-child trauma, educational learning outcomes, school safety, and household and community recovery-are presented to highlight common frameworks for IDR. A case study is also used to illustrate the value of interdisciplinary research and mixed-methods approaches, including statistics, geospatial analysis, and spatial statistics, for answering questions regarding how school contexts and location influence school recovery patterns.

Accessing Faith-Based Organizations Using Public Transportation: A Qualitative and GIS Study.

Nondriving aging adults are at risk of experiencing mobility barriers that inhibit access to important community resources for managing health and wellbeing. This multimethod study explores bus transportation experiences of older adults who live in extended stay hotels and use faith-based organizations to access resources. Interviews from 17 nondriving older adults were analyzed for perspectives about using faith-based organizations and residents' experiences navigating to faith-based organizations through available bus transportation in their communities. Residents described both favorable and unfavorable experiences when reaching out for help from faith-based organizations. Although they report reliance on faith-based organizations for a variety of resources, residents were challenged by an ineffective bus system that interfered with resource accessibility. Suggestions for improving bus transit systems and providing alternative, aging-friendly transportation options are discussed.

Challenges to mobilising resources for disaster recovery and reconstruction: perspectives of the Haitian diaspora.

Diasporas and diaspora non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are increasingly important as resource lifelines to their home countries, yet the resources that they mobilise, the types of challenges that they face, and their coping mechanisms are not well explored or understood in the context of disaster recovery. To fill this knowledge gap, this study employed an inductive qualitative methodological approach, using interviews to comprehend the role played by Haitian diaspora NGOs after the catastrophic earthquake in 2010. It found that resources take four common forms: event fundraisers; financial and material donations from supporters; remittances; and volunteer labour. Challenges include an overreliance on diaspora donors, competition among NGOs, and what is perceived as inequitable funding practices towards diaspora NGOs. The findings provide insights centred on better coordination among diaspora NGOs, as well as between diaspora NGOs and other local and international NGOs and local governments and international institutions, to ensure more efficient delivery of services to survivors.

Trauma-informed schools: Child disaster exposure, community violence and somatic symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Given the increasing prevalence of natural disasters, trauma-informed school settings should include efficient methods for assessing child health and mental health in post-disaster environments. To develop such methods, factors that contribute to children's vulnerability and key signs of distress reactions after disasters need to be understood. To address these issues, we evaluated pre-disaster community violence exposure as a vulnerability factor for children's post-disaster reactions and somatic symptoms as a key post-disaster outcome. METHODS: We evaluated 426 children exposed to Hurricane Katrina at two timepoints (3-7 months and 13-17 months post-disaster). Structural equation models evaluated community violence exposure, hurricane exposure, and posttraumatic stress and somatic symptoms. RESULTS: Community violence exposure was associated with increased levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms among disaster-impacted youth, and did not moderate the relationship between disaster exposure and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Posttraumatic stress symptoms were associated with somatic symptoms in the short-term recovery period (3-7 months), but not associated with somatic symptoms during the longer-term recovery period (13-17 months). LIMITATIONS: This study did not include school-level factors, and somatic symptoms were based on parent reports. The study did not include parent functioning information or distinguish between whether somatic symptoms were medical or functional in nature. CONCLUSIONS: Post-disaster school-based screeners may need to incorporate questions related to children's past exposure to community violence and their somatic symptoms to provide trauma-informed care for children.

Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Trajectories Among Children After Disaster Exposure: A Review.

Natural disasters, such as hurricanes and floods, are increasing in frequency and scope. Youth exposed to disasters are at risk for developing posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). However, not all youth who report initially elevated PTSS report persistent PTSS that last beyond the first three to six months postdisaster. Thus, it is crucial to understand how and why youth differ in their patterns of PTSS. This study reviewed the literature on children's postdisaster PTSS, evaluating the typical number and types of patterns for children's PTSS trajectories, as well as risk and protective factors predicting trajectory membership. This review identified eight empirical studies on youth PTSS trajectories following natural disasters; these studies included 8,306 children aged 3 to 18 years. All studies identified resilience, recovery, and chronic trajectories. Evidence for a delayed trajectory was mixed. Proportions of children falling into each trajectory varied widely across studies, but overall, resilience was the most prevalent trajectory. These findings were consistent across study factors (i.e., analytic strategy, assessment timing, and study selection criteria). Female gender, disaster exposure, negative coping, and lack of social support were significant risk factors for chronic trajectories across several studies. Future research should combine individual level participant data across studies of children's responses to disasters to better understand PTSS trajectories.

Schools and Disasters: Safety and Mental Health Assessment and Interventions for Children.

This article draws on experiences and lessons from global disasters and utilizes the United Nations Comprehensive School Safety Framework to highlight the necessary role of safe schools in protecting children, as well as adult staff, from the immediate threats and long-term implications of disasters. Specifically, we focus on three well-established pillars of school safety: Pillar I: Safe Learning Facilities; Pillar II: Disaster Management; and Pillar III: Risk Reduction and Resilience Education. In addition, we propose a potential fourth pillar, which underscores the function of schools in postdisaster mental health assessment and intervention for children. We argue that schools offer a central location and trusted institutional space for mental health assessment and intervention after disasters. We also examine the important linkages between schools, child mental health, and household and family recovery. We conclude with recommendations for filling gaps in research and practice related to ensuring the safety of schools and the associated health and well-being of children in the face of future disasters.