TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2006//
TI  - Mass-casualty events at schools: a national preparedness survey
JO  - Pediatrics
A1  - Graham, James
A1  - Shirm, Steve
A1  - Liggin, Rebecca
A1  - Aitken, Mary E.
A1  - Dick, Rhonda
SP  - e8
EP  - 15
VL  - 117
IS  - 1
N2  - OBJECTIVE: Recent school shootings and terrorist events have demonstrated the need for well-coordinated planning for school-based mass-casualty events. The objective of this study was to document the preparedness of public schools in the United States for the prevention of and the response to a mass-casualty event. METHODS: A survey was mailed to 3670 school superintendents of public school districts that were chosen at random from a list of school districts from the National Center for Education Statistics of the US Department of Education in January 2004. A second mailing was sent to nonresponders in May 2004. Descriptive statistics were used for survey variables, and the chi2 test was used to compare urban versus rural preparedness. RESULTS: The response rate was 58.2% (2137 usable surveys returned). Most (86.3%) school superintendents reported having a response plan, but fewer (57.2%) have a plan for prevention. Most (95.6%) have an evacuation plan, but almost one third (30%) had never conducted a drill. Almost one quarter (22.1%) have no disaster plan provisions for children with special health care needs, and one quarter reported having no plans for postdisaster counseling. Almost half (42.8%) had never met with local ambulance officials to discuss emergency planning. Urban school districts were better prepared than rural districts on almost all measures in the survey. CONCLUSIONS: There are important deficiencies in school emergency/disaster planning. Rural districts are less well prepared than urban districts. Disaster/mass-casualty preparedness of schools should be improved through coordination of school officials and local medical and emergency officials.
LA  - 
SN  - 0031-4005
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-0927
ID  - ref1
ER  -