Community planning for special populations in emergencies and disasters

Through a conference on Planning for Special Populations in Emergencies and Disasters sponsored by the Alabama Department of Public Health and the South Central Center for Public Health Preparedness, emergency and disaster planning issues were discussed and priorities were established for special needs populations at the individual, family, and agency levels. For this conference special needs included any individual, group or community whose circumstances create barriers to obtaining or understanding information, or the ability to react as the general population has been requested during all phases of emergency management. Circumstances that may create barriers included, but were not limited to: age, physical, mental, emotional or cognitive status, culture, ethnicity, religion, language, citizenship, geography, or socio-economic status. Workshop topics included: lessons learned for special needs populations from previous disasters; mental health issues; senior citizen issues; adults and children with disabilities or other special needs disaster planning; the role of the media for information dissemination; fire, EMS, EMA's, and public heath's role in emergency and disaster coordination and collaboration; disaster planning resources for first responders; specialized case-finding; and shelters for specific medical or other needs. Training was provided for advocacy and community groups, caseworkers and agencies, as well as individuals and families applying techniques that can be used to incorporate emergency preparedness into an individual or family care plan. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the issues, present practical emergency and disaster strategies, and illustrate special population needs disasters plans developed and presented at the conference.